Nov 6, 2020 5 min read

Now that they have gotten through what figured to be their most difficult stretch of the season – I know, they still have to travel to Dallas, but c’mon – the question now isn’t are the Steelers a good team.

They are.

Now the question buzzing around NFL circles is if the Steelers can go 16-0?

According to FootballOutsiders.com, the Steelers have a 4.9 percent chance to do so. That doesn’t sound like a lot, but in reality, it’s a really good percentage. And it will continue to go up with each win.

Look at it this way, the Steelers could very well be favored in every one of their remaining regular-season games, with the lone exception perhaps being at Buffalo Dec. 13. And that game, if played today, would be no worse than a pick’em, meaning neither team would favored.

Does that mean the Steelers will go unbeaten? The odds are not in their favor, especially this season with COVID-19 floating around.

As we’ve seen this week, the NFL isn’t too keen on postponing games unless a team still has a bye week remaining. And the Steelers do not.

So, there could come a time this season when the Steelers are missing some key players, not just because of injury, but because of the virus.

That said, keep enjoying the wins. The Steelers have already matched the best start in team history from 1978. And there’s a very good chance they’ll beat that mark Sunday.

• Because of that remaining schedule – just four of their remaining nine opponents have a winning record – the Steelers are the clear-cut favorite to be the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoffs.

Again, according to FootballOutsiders.com, the Steelers have a 51.8 percent chance to be the top seed in the AFC. Kansas City (7-1) has a 34.8 percent chance.

The Chiefs have already stumbled once and still have road games remaining against both the Saints and Buccaneers.

Kansas City could win both of those games. But it’s much more likely the best they can do is a split.

• Speaking of the Bucs, you’d better believe Tom Brady will be throwing the ball to Antonio Brown this weekend in Brown’s first game back off an eight-game suspension.

Brady lobbied for Tampa Bay to sign the former Steelers star. And Brown is living in Brady’s house.

Can you imagine the car ride home after the game if Brady doesn’t throw Brown the ball? At least Ben Roethlisberger had an opportunity to go home every night to get away from Brown’s whining about not getting enough catches.

• Tampa Bay head coach Bruce Arians wanted to cut Brown and put him on the practice squad in his rookie season in 2010 when Arians was the Steelers’ offensive coordinator.

He wasn’t fond of Brown’s attitude and lack of attention to detail when it came to running routes as a rookie.

This week’s picks

Steelers (minus 14) over Cowboys: Good luck finding a line on this one because of the Cowboys’ quarterback situation. But if you can, take the Steelers, though they are just 15-11 all-time under Tomlin the week after playing the Ravens. After a win over Baltimore, it’s just 7-6. But Dallas has given up the ghost since losing Prescott. The Cowboys scored 24 points in their final full quarter with Dak Prescott at quarterback. They’ve scored 22 points in the threee games since. Take the Steelers, 34-6

Colts (plus 2) over Ravens: Like the Steelers, the Ravens struggle the week after playing Pittsburgh. They’re just 13-12 under John Harbaugh after playing the Steelers. Add to that the fact they’ve been missing almost their entire linebacking corps all week because of COVID-19 restrictions and will be without Marlon Humphrey, and this smells of an upset. Take the Colts, 24-20

Cardinals (minus 4) over Dolphins: Tuo Tagovailoa threw for less than 100 yards in his debut last week. And the Dolphins are short on running backs. The Cardinals are coming off a bye. The Dolphins have the league’s best scoring defense, but it won’t stop Kyler Murray and company. Take the Cardinals, 26-17

Chargers (pick) over Raiders: The Chargers have been just good enough to lose. The Raiders have been playing above their heads. But the Raiders were in Cleveland last week. I’ll take the home team over the one playing its second consecutive road game. Take the Chargers, 27-24

Seahawks (minus 3) over Bills: The Bills just haven’t been playing well since their hot start. And Russell Wilson is playing the best in the league at the quarterback position. The Bills also will be a little amped up after finally beating the Patriots last week. Take the Seahawks, 34-27

Last Week: 2-3 Overall: 24-13-3 ATS