Steelers playoff chances: What Kenny Pickett and co. need to sneak in ahead of Week 16
The Pittsburgh Steelers have an outside shot at making the playoffs. They're awaiting Kenny Pickett's return, but a 6-3 start (even if it turns into a 7-7 record) tends to bode well for late-season playoff chances. They're currently on the outside looking in, though. They need to make up ground and fast. Fortunately, there are some simple ways for the team to get in.
What are the chances of the Steelers making the playoffs?
The Steelers are currently 7-7, which makes them the 10th overall seed in the AFC. There are only seven seeds, so this current standing isn't going to cut it. If Mike Tomlin and company are to make it to the postseason, they need to turn it around.
That begins effectively with winning out. Eight losses, which would only be one more for Pittsburgh, likely doesn't cut it in a stacked AFC. Therefore, they need to go 10-7.
That requires them beating the Cincinnati Bengals, Seattle Seahawks and Baltimore Ravens, which is a very difficult gamut to run. That's not likely to happen, but if it does, they might still need some help.
They're currently trailing the Buffalo Bills (ninth), Houston Texans (eighth), Indianapolis Colts (seventh) and Cincinnati Bengals (sixth) for a Wild Card spot. Those teams are all 8-6.
With two spots available, the Steelers would need to finish the season 10-7 and hope that two of these teams do not win out. If one wins out, they'd be a game up. If two win out, the Steelers can't make it no matter what they do.
Furthermore, the Denver Broncos are right on Pittsburgh's heels at 7-7, so they'd need to keep them at a worse or similar record as well. It's not completely outrageous for the Steelers to emerge from the pack, but it is going to be extremely difficult and doesn't look likely.
Week 16 AFC standings and playoff scenarios
The Steelers are currently 10th in the AFC, trailing all the teams mentioned above and with Denver tied at 11th. In Week 16, that's not an ideal position to be in, so can they eventually make it?
Our NFL Playoff Predictor predicts all games remaining on the schedule. By doing this, it predicts how all teams' records will look when Week 18 passes, and places the teams in based on tiebreakers and everything else.
With the prediction complete, the Steelers didn't make it in. In fact, they weren't even close. Our simulation believes that the teams the Steelers needed to not win out did in fact win out. The Bills and Texans won out, putting them in.
Along with that, the Steelers didn't do what was necessary on their end anyway. They didn't win out, so they had a tough sell to get in. They finished 9-8, since Mike Tomlin is incapable of putting together a team that loses any more than eight games a year.
The Steelers simply face too long of odds and have too difficult a schedule remaining. Additionally, the teams ahead of them are significantly better, and they have easier roads into the playoffs.