The Steelers are Super Bowl contenders again, right?
Amazingly, the Steelers have gone from being favorites in August, pretenders in September, and perhaps, contenders again in October.
According to the latest Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook odds to win Super Bowl LIII, the Steelers have improved this week from 20-1 favorites during Week 7 to 18-1 favorites entering Week 8 of the 2018 NFL season.
The 18-1 odds are a sharp drop from Pittsburgh’s opening line of 8-1 odds, second to only the New England Patriots. The Patriots are now one of six teams ahead of the Steelers as favorites to play in this year’s big game:
| Team | Opening odds | Updated odds |
|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles Rams | 20-1 | 8-5 |
| Kansas City Chiefs | 30-1 | 5-1 |
| New England Patriots | 5-1 | 6-1 |
| New Orleans Saints | 16-1 | 8-1 |
| Minnesota Vikings | 10-1 | 12-1 |
| Los Angeles Chargers | 30-1 | 14-1 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 8-1 | 18-1 |
| Houston Texans | 20-1 | 25-1 |
| Baltimore Ravens | 40-1 | 25-1 |
| Green Bay Packers | 10-1 | 30-1 |
| Carolina Panthers | 20-1 | 30-1 |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 10-1 | 40-1 |
| Atlanta Falcons | 16-1 | 50-1 |
| Jacksonville Jaguars | 20-1 | 50-1 |
| Washington Redskins | 60-1 | 50-1 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 100-1 | 50-1 |
| Dallas Cowboys | 20-1 | 60-1 |
| Chicago Bears | 100-1 | 60-1 |
| Detroit Lions | 40-1 | 80-1 |
| Seattle Seahawks | 20-1 | 100-1 |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 40-1 | 100-1 |
| Indianapolis Colts | 40-1 | 100-1 |
| Tennessee Titans | 40-1 | 100-1 |
| Miami Dolphins | 60-1 | 100-1 |
| Denver Broncos | 40-1 | 300-1 |
| New York Giants | 60-1 | 300-1 |
| New York Jets | 100-1 | 300-1 |
| Cleveland Browns | 100-1 | 500-1 |
| Oakland Raiders | 30-1 | 2000-1 |
| San Francisco 49ers | 20-1 | 5000-1 |
| Arizona Cardinals | 40-1 | 5000-1 |
| Buffalo Bills | 100-1 | 5000-1 |
As I like to say, “Winning heals all”. The Steelers woes in September have been all but erased with a turnaround over their last two games, both victories: one over the Atlanta Falcons and the other over division rival Cincinnati. They entered the bye week third in the AFC North with a record just above .500 after being below that line before playing the Falcons.
The rest of the Steelers division also took last weekend off, with the Browns and Ravens both losing their games, and the Bengals getting decimated on Sunday Night Football by the Kansas City Chiefs. When the dust settled Monday morning, Pittsburgh found themselves in first place.
The jump from the bottom to the top helps their Vegas odds, but also helps their realistic chances at a Super Bowl appearance in the near future. Two more AFC north matchups loom over Pittsburgh’s next games: welcoming the Browns to Heinz Field before traveling to Baltimore to face the Ravens.
Those two games will shake out how the AFC North standings could be until the final game of the season. That’s because Week 17 is the last of the Steelers division games, one which could shape up to be an “AFC North Championship” home game with the Cincinnati Bengals. Provided the Steelers take care of business within the next two weeks as well as within the AFC, they could stay atop of the division for the rest of 2018.
However, a mishap could see them fighting for a Wild Card berth, rather than a division crown, as a loss to Cleveland or Baltimore would be costly: they would have to depend on other teams to take care of business to help them move up the rankings as they would have only the lone opportunity against Cincinnati at the end to improve their chances at a Super Bowl run.
Therefore, the next two games are pivotal to answering the question as to whether or not the Steelers are contenders in 2018. A split wouldn’t be the end of the world, but two losses would be devastating to their chances.
Two wins, however, would put them in the driver’s seat to once again rule the North.
