The Steelers enter Week 7 in a position plenty of teams would take in a heartbeat. Pittsburgh is 4-2, has outperformed expectations, and is sitting in the No. 7 spot in the AFC heading into Sunday. If the playoffs started right now, they’d be lined up to face the Buffalo Bills.
Of course, the season doesn’t freeze in October, and the picture around Pittsburgh is about to shift. The back half of the schedule was always supposed to be tougher, but that looked even scarier two months ago than it does now.
The Eagles have dropped four straight and won’t have Jalen Hurts for their game against the Steelers. The Texans, meanwhile, haven’t looked like the Super Bowl-caliber team so many expected.
That makes this trip to play the Saints in France feel even bigger. The Steelers’ current playoff odds sit at 46 percent, according to The Athletic’s playoff predictor, and Sunday’s result could move that number in a big way.
A win would lift Pittsburgh’s postseason chances to 57 percent. That 11-point jump would put them in a strong place heading into November and give them some breathing room in the race.
A loss would cut the other way hard. The Steelers would drop to 37 percent, a 20-point swing overall that would make this one of the most consequential games of the weekend.
The AFC North race is a little different. Pittsburgh’s odds to win the division are only 17 percent right now, and even a victory over New Orleans wouldn’t dramatically change that number.
The reason is simple: the Ravens and Bengals meet this weekend, so one of them will still come out of October with only two losses. Since the Steelers have already beaten the Bengals, their divisional outlook improves only slightly if Cincinnati beats Baltimore.
A defeat would hurt much more in that race. Even at 4-3, Pittsburgh would be handed just a 12 percent shot at the AFC North. That’s because at least one team in the division would still have only two losses, and there’s a path for two teams to sit on just two losses if the Browns beat the Titans in Week 7.
That’s what makes this matchup so heavy for Pittsburgh. The Saints are one of the weaker teams in the NFC, and the Steelers have the defense to make life miserable for Tyler Shough.
A win would help keep them pointed toward the postseason. A loss would do real damage.
That’s the NFL. Every week carries weight, and this one carries a lot of it for the Steelers.
In Other News...
Steelers Could Have A Trade Deadline Opening They Rarely Get
With the Nov. 10 trade deadline approaching, the Steelers may be looking at a market they do not often get to shop in while sitting at 4-2. Around the league, a handful of struggling teams are shaping up as possible sellers, which matters in Pittsburgh because it could open a path to add help without having to wait for the offseason.
The teams most worth watching are the Chargers, Dolphins, Buccaneers and Titans, all of whom could be forced to listen if their seasons keep going the wrong way. For the Steelers, that creates an unusual opportunity to look at available talent across multiple positions, from wide receiver to the secondary, and see whether a move is there to be made before the deadline closes. [Read more 🡒]
Steelers Fans Just Got Painful Validation On George Pickens
George Pickens has a familiar kind of spotlight on him again, and this time it comes with a direct public critique from Dallas Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer after Week 6. Schottenheimer took aim at Pickens effort as both a receiver and a run-game participant, a familiar complaint for anyone who watched his last chapter in Pittsburgh, where the talent was never really in question but the consistency and engagement sometimes were.
For Steelers fans, the validation stings because it points back to a theme they know well from Pickens time here: the flashes were obvious, but so were the stretches that left everyone wanting more. Pittsburgh saw enough of those uneven days to understand why the discussion keeps circling back to effort, and Schottenheimers public comments only reopen the question of whether the same issues will keep following Pickens wherever he goes. [Read more 🡒]
Steelers Backfield Suddenly Puts More On Jaylen Warren In Paris
The Steelers headed into the week with a healthier look on one side of the ball, as T.J. Watt was back at full practice after initially popping up with a calf issue. His return is a good sign for Pittsburghs defense, especially with the game shifting to Paris and the team trying to settle in for a strange week of preparation overseas.
The bigger offensive wrinkle is in the backfield, where Rico Dowdle is listed as questionable because of a knee injury after already missing time with a toe issue. If he cannot go or is only part of the plan, the burden figures to land on Jaylen Warren, who would be asked to handle a much larger share of the work than usual in a game that could demand a lot from Pittsburghs run game. [Read more 🡒]