The Pittsburgh Steelers were not looking forward to a 2-2 start to their 2023 season, and that was really the case after they started 2-1, but last Sunday’s horrific loss to the Houston Texans has reversed almost all optimism for the rest of the 2023 season.
But should that be the case?
According to a study by PennStakes.com, the Steelers don’t have that bad of a chance of making the playoffs from their current position. The study, from 2012-22, showed that team that start 2-2 make the playoffs 40% of the time.
Even better, those teams win in the Wild Card round 29.1% of the time.
Winning Sunday would go a long way to realizing that goal. In fact, the Steelers will be in first place in the AFC North if they can defeat the Baltimore Ravens at Acrisure Stadium on Sunday.
On the other hand, a loss could draw them into a tie for last place with the Cincinnati Bengals.
That’s the expected outcome according to the oddsmakers, which have the Steelers listed as either four or 4.5-point underdogs for Sunday’s game.
Bet MGM is one of the books with the hook for Steelers bettors, as of early Saturday. New customers to Bet MGM can get $200 in bonus bets when they sign up and place a $10 bet.
The Steelers would actually be the No. 6 seed out of the AFC if the playoffs started today. Their record isn’t really a cause for panic, but the way the Steelers got there, with blowout losses to the San Francisco 49ers and Houston Texans.