Skip to main content

Steelers playoff picture: Odds, remaining schedule, AFC North division standings

Jacob Camenker   Paste BN
play
Show Caption

Mike Tomlin made a bold move after a 4-2 start to the 2024 NFL season. The long-time Pittsburgh Steelers coach replaced starting quarterback Justin Fields with Russell Wilson, who was expected to be the team's starter before a calf injury sidelined him at the beginning of the season.

Many considered Tomlin's decision to be an unnecessary risk. After all, the Steelers were winning with Fields. Why change up what had largely been a winning formula during the first third of the season?

Per usual, Tomlin got the last laugh. Wilson has won four consecutive starts since taking over for Fields and has the Steelers tracking to win a division title for the first time since 2020.

Pittsburgh enters its Week 12 "Thursday Night Football" matchup against the Cleveland Browns with an 8-2 record. The Steelers' head-to-head win over the Baltimore Ravens in Week 11 gives them the advantage in the AFC North race and pushed their playoff odds to near-lock status.

If Pittsburgh can beat the Browns on Thursday night, the 52-year-old Tomlin will clinch his 18th consecutive winning season as an NFL head coach.

Here's what you need to know about the Steelers' playoff odds, their remaining schedule and where they stand in the AFC playoff picture for Week 12.

NFL POWER RANKINGS WEEK 12: How far do Kansas City Chiefs drop after suffering first loss?

Steelers playoff odds

According to BetMGM Sportsbook, the Steelers have odds of -3000 to make the playoffs entering Week 12. That implied probability gives Pittsburgh a 96.77% chance of qualifying for the postseason.

Steelers remaining schedule

The Steelers' remaining seven opponents have a combined winning percentage of .493, per Tankathon. That makes Pittsburgh's remaining schedule the 15th toughest of the NFL's 32 teams.

That said, five of the Steelers' remaining seven games are against divisional opponents. While their four combined contests against the Browns and Cincinnati Bengals may not look too difficult on paper, they will surely be tested in what are typically grind-it-out AFC North slugfests.

Below is a full look at Pittsburgh's schedule:

GIANTS QB OPTIONS 2025: Could Sam Darnold or Justin Fields replace Daniel Jones?

AFC North standings

Pittsburgh's chances of taking down the AFC North are more of a toss-up than their chances of making the playoffs. BetMGM currently lists the Steelers as -155 favorites to win the division, good for a 60.78% chance.

Below is a full look at the AFC North standings entering Week 12:

  1. Pittsburgh Steelers (8-2)
  2. Baltimore Ravens (7-4)
  3. Cincinnati Bengals (4-7)
  4. Cleveland Browns (2-8)

The Steelers not only have a game and a half lead over the Ravens, but they have also beaten Baltimore in their lone head-to-head meeting thus far. That gives the Steelers an advantage in the head-to-head tiebreaker, though Baltimore could even the series when they square off in Week 16.

Even if they do, the Steelers still have more opportunities to control the division record tiebreaker. They are 1-0 against AFC North teams in 2024, while the Ravens are just 2-2.

If the Steelers can beat the Ravens head-to-head a second time in Week 16, that should put them well on their way to their first AFC North title since 2020.

SUPER BOWL CONTENDER: Red-hot Eagles' winning formula could lead to another title

NFL playoff picture Week 12

AFC

  1. Kansas City Chiefs (9-1, AFC West leaders)
  2. Buffalo Bills (9-2, AFC East leaders)
  3. Pittsburgh Steelers (8-2, AFC North leaders)
  4. Houston Texans (7-4, AFC South leaders)
  5. Los Angeles Chargers (7-3, wild card No. 1)
  6. Baltimore Ravens (7-4, wild card No. 2)
  7. Denver Broncos (6-5, wild card No. 3)

In the hunt: Indianapolis Colts (5-6), Miami Dolphins (4-6), Cincinnati Bengals (4-7).

NFC

  1. Detroit Lions (9-1, NFC North leaders)
  2. Philadelphia Eagles (8-2, NFC East leaders)
  3. Arizona Cardinals (6-4, NFC West leaders)
  4. Atlanta Falcons (6-5, NFC South leaders)
  5. Minnesota Vikings (8-2, wild card No. 1)
  6. Green Bay Packers (7-3, wild card No. 2)
  7. Washington Commanders (7-4, wild card No. 3)

In the hunt: Los Angeles Rams (5-5), Seattle Seahawks (5-5), San Francisco 49ers (5-5), Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-6), Chicago Bears (4-6), New Orleans Saints (4-7).

Facebook Twitter Email