The Pittsburgh Steelers are off to an uninspiring start, even if the team is 1-1 in the standings. A 20-3 loss to the New England Patriots in Week 2 has fans and the NFL world at large wondering if Aaron Rodgers and company are legitimate playoff contenders.
ESPN used its “Football Power Index” to provide fresh playoff odds entering Week 3. The projections show the Steelers facing quite the uphill battle to silence the doubters.
Steelers Currently Face Long Postseason Odds
ESPN’s FPI currently gives the Steelers a 21% chance to reach the playoffs, which ranks 11th in the AFC. This includes only a 3% chance to win the AFC North division.
Finishing 11th in the AFC most likely means the Steelers would finish with a losing record and would land a top-10 pick in the 2027 NFL Draft. That may be best for the team’s future, but would be a shock for the organization after over two decades of winning seasons. That would also represent a rough finish for Rodgers’ NFL career.
Sunday’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals should give a better indication of the team’s true potential in 2026. Week 1 featured a win over a Cooper Rush-led Atlanta Falcons team, while the loss in Week 2 highlighted a laundry list of problems to fix.
Whether Mike McCarthy’s group can fix those problems will be seen starting this Sunday.
Road Ahead for Pittsburgh
The Steelers have a bye in Week 9, giving fans eight games to gauge the true potential of this team.
The team takes on the Bengals this Sunday, followed by a Thursday night game in Cleveland against Deshaun Watson and the Browns. Week 5 features a home game against the Indianapolis Colts before the Steelers head south to take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 6.
The tricky part of the schedule comes in Week 7 when the team heads to France for the NFL Paris Game against the New Orleans Saints. The team is doing this on a normal week and then heads back home to face the Browns again before the bye week.
A best-case scenario given this schedule seems to be a 5-3 record, based on how the offense has looked thus far. The worst-case scenario, of course, is a 1-7 record.
The current playoff odds from ESPN don’t show much confidence in the Steelers moving forward. However, things change rapidly in the NFL from week to week. For example, the New York Giants’ odds just plummeted after losing Jaxson Dart to injury.
Thus, a Steelers victory over the Bengals in Week 3 would increase the playoff odds in a big way. A loss, however, would only lead to less confidence in the team moving forward.
Will Steelers Make the Playoffs? ESPN Reveals Surprising Odds