Steelers Playoff Chances Still High Despite Draw With Lions, As Predicted

The draw with the Detroit Lions in Week 10 at Heinz Field was generally pretty painful for the Pittsburgh Steelers on the field and on the leaderboard.

Or is it?

While the draw certainly looked bad and cost the Steelers half a game in the standings, Pittsburgh is solid in the AFC playoff picture and in the race for the AFC North championship. In fact, Pittsburgh still has one of the best seven playoff spots in the AFC, meaning they’re on the verge of a playoff spot in 2021.

According to CBS Sports’ SportsLine.com prediction, the Steelers have a 54.4% chance of making it to the knockout stages. Forecasts are based on data from SportsLine.com digital analyst Stephen Oh. Oh ran some numbers and simulated the rest of the NFL season, and using those numbers was able to make predictions for the Steelers.

“From an optical point of view, tying up the Lions might be the most embarrassing outcome of Week 10. However, the computer doesn’t deal with optics, it only deals with numbers, and the computer likes the fact that The Steelers did not lose,” Oh writes for CBS Sports. “With a 5-3-1 scoreline, the Steelers have a 54.4% chance of scoring, which is remarkable, because every team below them in prediction has less than a 50% chance of hitting the net, according to the calculator. ”

As expected, the Steelers were the last of the seven teams in the AFC to have a playoff spot more than 50% higher. It is true that the Indianapolis Colts test at 49.1%, but then there was a sizable drop in the conference as the Cincinnati Bengals sat at 33.1% and held a game in the hands of the Steelers.

For further reference, the Las Vegas Raiders accounted for 29.1% and the Cleveland Browns reached 25.6%. The Raiders have a game in the hands of the Steelers, while Pittsburgh holds a head-to-head advantage over the Browns.

While there’s still a lot of football to play, the Steelers are currently in a good position, at least in terms of play-off spots. That could change in a hurry though starting Week 11 on the road to the Los Angeles Chargers kicks off the Steelers’ tough road ahead with games against the Chargers, two-time Baltimore Ravens, Tennessee. Titans, Kansas City Chiefs and Minnesota Vikings, not to mention the Bengals and Browns.

That 54.4% could look a lot different in a month or so. For now, however, the Steelers are firmly in the playoffs. That’s good news, at least.