Sitting at 7-4 and riding high after a 16-10 win over the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 12, the Pittsburgh Steelers find themselves firmly in the AFC playoff picture, currently holding down the top Wild-Card spot in a loaded AFC.
Yet, despite the holding the highest playoff percentage chance in the AFC outside of current division leaders and having a very favorable schedule ahead with matchups against the Arizona Cardinals and New England Patriots in the next week, CBS Sports’ Jordan Dajani believes the Steelers aren’t the best Wild Card-contending team in the AFC.
In a piece ranking the 12 AFC Wild-Card contenders, Dajani ranked the Steelers No. 4, behind the Denver Broncos, Buffalo Bills and Houston Texans.
Currently, the Broncos are 6-5 and on a five-game winning streak, but they have a playoff percentage chance of just 26.5. Buffalo is 6-6 and has a playoff percentage chance of 18.7, while Houston — which has a win in hand over the Steelers — sits at 6-5 and has a 52.3 percent playoff chance.
For Dajani, it comes down to the Steelers’ offense and what the unit is moving forward after the firing of much-maligned offensive coordinator Matt Canada. That move led to the Steelers generating 421 yards of total offense Sunday in the win over the Bengals, which was rather encouraging. Dajani is expecting more.
“I’m not saying the Steelers are going to morph into the 1999 Rams to close out the year, but I am expecting more from this unit,” Dajani writes while ranking the Steelers No. 4 in the Wild-Card rankings. “Despite the offensive struggles, the Steelers have remained competitive this season. At 7-4, SportsLine says they have a better chance to make the playoffs than any other team on this list.”
While he acknowledges that the Steelers have the highest playoff chance among all AFC Wild Card-contending teams, it remains puzzling that he has them ranked behind the Broncos and Bills.
The Broncos are playing good football under head coach Sean Payton. They’ve won five in a row and have defeated the likes of the Cleveland Browns and Bills in recent weeks. The defense is playing at a high level and the offense is figuring things out. It’s not that easy down the stretch for the Broncos though, starting with a Week 13 matchup against Houston.
Denver also has two matchups with the Los Angeles Chargers, a matchup with the Detroit Lions and a tough season finale against the Las Vegas Raiders still on the schedule.
Buffalo ahead of Pittsburgh in the rankings is the most puzzling, though. The Bills are 6-6, have struggled to put together complete games on both sides of the football and haven’t figured out a way to close out games late. On paper, Buffalo might be a slightly better team than the Steelers due to Josh Allen at quarterback, but Allen has had his issues this season with turnovers and some rather mind-numbing decisions.
Buffalo’s schedule down the stretch is daunting, too, with matchups against the Kansas City Chiefs, Dallas Cowboys, and Miami Dolphins still on the schedule. That’s tough.
Pittsburgh might not be viewed as a better team than the Bills, Texans or Broncos, but the Steelers have a better record, have a much more favorable schedule moving forward, and most importantly are starting to play some good, complementary football on both sides of the ball.
