It seems like the Pittsburgh Steelers have found their footing at Pennsylvania sportsbooks after an up-and-down start to the NFL regular season, as the franchise looks to reach the playoffs for the first time in two years. Fresh off their latest conquest over the Tennessee Titans, Mike Tomlin’s bunch sit at 5-3 for the year, with wins over the Cleveland Browns (26-22), Las Vegas Raiders (23-18), Baltimore Ravens (17-10), L.A. Rams (17-10), with a Sunday matinee at Acrisure Stadium awaiting them.
Ahead of that matinee, which oddsmakers from ESPN Bet PA have Pittsburgh as a 3-point home favorite, PennStakes.com broke down how teams in the Steelers’ shoes have fared of late.
Utilizing Champs or Chumps, we looked at how teams ended up the rest of the NFL season after starting their season with an 5-3 record since the 2018 NFL season. There have been 29 teams that have started 5-3 in the last 5 seasons.
Performance Of NFL Teams Starting 5-3
Can Steelers Join NFL’s 5-3 Success Stories In 2023?
Of the teams that started 5-3 since 2018, 58.6% (17) went on to make the playoffs, while six advanced past the Wild Card round and two eventually made it all the way to the Super Bowl. Of those, only the 2019 Kansas City Chiefs won it all, though there’s nothing saying Pittsburgh can’t join them with the right mixture of good play and good fortune. Keep tabs on the Steelers playoff chances all season here.
Of Pittsburgh’s two Super Bowl winning teams this century, both the 2005 and 2008 Steelers squads started the year 6-2, while the 2010 team that lost in the Big Game also won six of their first eight regular season contests. This year, Pittsburgh’s excelled on the field in spite of a -30 point differential and the inconsistent play of quarterback Kenny Pickett, who has posted a yearlong QBR of 33.8 for the Steelers.
Perhaps because of that, oddsmakers at Caesars Sportsbook Pennsylvania don’t seem to be flying high on the Steelers’ title chances, listing Pittsburgh 16th overall at +7500 to win their first title in 16 years in 2024.
