The Pittsburgh Steelers went dancing in 2023, making a mad dash to win their final three regular season games and getting Week 18 help to capture a playoff spot. The oddsmakers like their chances of spending this January on the couch, instead.
In FanDuel’s latest odds, the Steelers are the most likely AFC team to miss the playoffs after making the postseason a year ago. Pittsburgh sits at minus-290, far worse than next-to-last Cleveland.
Historically, about half the teams that make the playoffs one year miss it the next. It’s no surprise to see the Kansas City Chiefs be handed the best odds to return to the playoffs. They’ve made the playoffs in every season since 2015 and are searching for their third-straight Super Bowl, which would be an NFL-first.
Pittsburgh’s longer odds stem from a difficult schedule and an offense that hasn’t proven it can put points on the board. The Steelers play in football’s toughest division where every club finished above .500 a year ago despite three of the teams changing their quarterbacks mid-season. The Bengals and Browns lost Joe Burrow and Deshaun Watson, while the Steelers lost and then benched Kenny Pickett.
The Steelers play all six of their divisional games over the final eight weeks, with their only reprieves coming in the form of traveling to Philadelphia and hosting Kansas City on Christmas Day.
Pittsburgh is searching for its first playoff win since 2016, stuck in its longest post-merger drought. The team is banking on an improved passing game under QB Russell Wilson, who threw more touchdowns last year than the Steelers have the past two seasons, and an upgraded coaching staff with OC Arthur Smith to lead a more organized offense. Defensively, Pittsburgh continues to look strong, and good health will go a long way to make this a top-five scoring defense.
Of teams who didn’t make the postseason a year ago, the most likely names to be included this year are the Jacksonville Jaguars, New York Jets and Cincinnati Bengals. The Jaguars looked poised for a playoff run before falling apart late last season, while the Jets return a stout defense and healthy QB Aaron Rodgers. The Bengals have Burrow back and could return as one of football’s most potent offenses.
The Steelers season will kick off Sunday at 1 PM/EST against the Atlanta Falcons, who are looking to make the postseason for the first time since 2017.
