Coming into the Week 13 matchup at against the visiting Arizona Cardinals, the Pittsburgh Steelers had a real opportunity in front of themselves from a playoff perspective.
Win and improve to 8-4, the playoff odds for the team would push close to 80%, making them much closer to a lock with a few weeks left than anyone could have imagined. But with a loss, the Steelers would fall to 7-5 and make it more of a 50-50 bet on the playoffs.
A loss to the lowly Cardinals, who came into the matchup 2-10, was unthinkable. Pittsburgh wasn’t going to lose this game, right?
Wrong.
The Steelers were thoroughly outplayed Sunday in an ugly 24-10 loss to the Cardinals, which featured two weather delays as Mother Nature displayed her distaste for the showing on the field that the Steelers put together.
Now, Pittsburgh finds itself in a tough spot in the AFC playoff picture.
According to ESPN’s Football Power Index, the Steelers have a 55.9% chance of making the playoffs, and just a 7.6% chance of winning the AFC North.
There was a significant drop in playoff odds from Pro Football Focus, too. Entering Week 13 against the Cardinals, the Steelers sat at just over 70% in PFF’s playoff picture. A win would have pushed them closer to 80%, but a loss would see the Steelers’ playoff odds crater.
That loss occurred, and now the Steelers have a playoff odds percentage of 54% from PFF. Talk about a dramatic swing.
It’s December football now. All the games carry a ton of weight. The Steelers dropped the ball in a big way on Sunday. Now, there’s a lot of work ahead of them, starting with a Thursday Night Football matchup against the New England Patriots at Acrisure Stadium to open Week 14.
The good news, if there is any, for Pittsburgh coming off the loss is that the Cleveland Browns and Denver Broncos also lost Sunday, dropping their playoff odds quite a bit, too, though the Browns have a higher playoff odds percentage than the Steelers now at 57%. Bad news is the Houston Texans and Indianapolis Colts both won, though.
Pittsburgh will battle the Colts in Week 15 on Saturday, Dec. 16 as part of a Saturday NFL triple-header. That game will have a ton of meaning for the AFC playoff picture. Buckle up.
