Honestly, Can the Steelers still make the playoffs?

Sure, they are not mathematically eliminated and have dug a huge hole and I will go on record as having lost all optimism for this season after the 0-4 start and called for blowing the whole thing up but now I've found my rose colored glasses which don't seem to be so blurry any more.

I wasn't able to watch the game yesterday so I can't tell you how well they played and whether things seem to finally be taking shape. I was however in the region where I watched the Bengals bungle another game away.

Let's face it. The AFC north is still very much up for grabs. The cards could fall the Steelers way even though we are cellar dwellers right now. Obviously the wild card won't be given in the division so that means that they would have to out right win the division.

Is it possible?
Is it probable?
Could it actually happen?

3 weeks ago I didn't think we had a chance but now if the Steelers start a winning streak then they could actually pull off something so unreachable just a short time ago.


Thoughts?

 

let's see what they do vs detroit ...

 

Who are you, and what have you done with the real 86WardsWay?

 

I am 86WardsWay still but I watched the Bungles yesterday just about prop the door open for all of the AFC North . Good old Marvin Lewis is practically standing there holding it open saying come join the party to any other team in the division.
The Steelers would probably have to win out to make it but I can also see any of the teams in this division going either 9-7 or 10-6.
I'm not going to get too excited about the possibilities at this point but there is a possibility nonetheless.
Don't worry though, One crappy performance and I'll be back hating.

 

Mathematically yes... realistically probably not. That being said, not too many 3-6 teams have this kind of opportunity. We do have something going for us tho, we still have 4 games left against AFC north. So, not impossible, just improbable. Go Steelers!

 

If they get back to .500, 6-6. Then you can start to dream. They have to get 3 straight to just get there, and we haven't done better than two straight so far. Is it possible? Sure, but they have to get better, yesterday was better, I think they finally found a pass rush yesterday.

 

More so than most years, it's hard to want to look ahead beyond the next game. Buffalo at home ain't the Ravens on the road so it's hard to know how if you really CAN look ahead (as freak said, wait until Detroit). What was great about the Buffalo game was afterward it was hard to know who should get the 'game ball.' There was solid effort all around instead of those early games where there was so much blame to go around, you didn't know where to begin.

That being said, I don't think you could call either of the Bengals last 2 losses surprising (except maybe after they beat the Jets by 40, but come on!). I think a loss at home to the Browns would be surprising. I think the best to hope for in the next 2 against the Colts and Chargers is a split which puts them at 8-5 going into the Steelers matchup. We would need to be 7-6 heading into that game (no more losses) so that a win would forge a tie and we would own the tiebreaker at that point. The Bengals end with the Vikings at home and the Ravens at home. I think that puts them at 10-6 unless the Ravens magically have something to play for in that final week (the irony is, we probably don't want the Ravens to have totally mailed it in by week 17, but we need the tiebreakers against both so we could control our destiny in the final week).

Strange things happen though. If an improved Browns team can rise up next week (and then of course fall the subsequent week when the Steelers come to town), if they lose to both the Colts AND Chargers, maybe we can still sneak in there. But the second half of the season feels a bit like the second half of all of those games we've fallen behind early in the season. With flashes of brilliance in the second half, we may be able to start coming back -- enough to start making us believe in the 'impossible,' (just before reality hits again) but one positive data point (Buffalo) isn't enough yet to make me believe that we can overcome the zero margin for error we've now heaped upon ourselves.

Still, I'll be rooting for one more week of 'hope' next week against the Lions! GO STEELERS!

 

mathematically If the Bungles lose one game to any other team other than the steelers ... we control our destiny .

 

Stop the insanity..... We have 3 wins.... two of which were against teams with ROOKIE QB's. Any playoff talk should at least wait until after week 14 IMHO.

 

Sure we can we our only 1 game out of 2nd and 3 out of first

 

Can't believe Im even commenting on this, but they must go 7-1 down the stretch to even sniff the playoffs. Every week is a 1 game season, and they had better play lights out which is something they have yet to do. It starts with Detroit, and if they can pull out a win then Id say we have a heartbeat, not much of one but we do have one. We have 4 divisional games left, 2 with Cleveland, @ Baltimore, Cincinnati, Detroit, Miami and GB. Can it be done? Yes! Is it likely? No! I honestly think Cleveland will be the toughest D we will face, and they could give us fits! I love our boys, but man this is a huge hill to climb!

 

We can still do it.

 

Without a doubt they will!

 

Can they? Remarkably, yes. Will they? In all probability, no.

Sunday's game against Detroit will go a long way toward determining whether or not we are capable of making a run. It's another one of those pivotal games that we've seemed to show up unprepared, uninspired and flat for in the recent past. Will that be the case again? If we can make a statement in this game some of our upcoming games look winnable. Green Bay without Rodgers is not nearly as formidable and the Bengals and Ravens certainly look beatable. We can get back in this thing but my confidence level with this team is not running very high at this point.

 

this

 

My math gives the Steelers a 6.2% chance of finishing 9-7 or better. The chance that an AFC team other than Den or KC goes 9-7 is 90%

The Steelers still trail Cle and Bal and have to play both on the road.

i'd say it's about a 3% chance of snagging the. 2nd WC, and a 0.5% chance of winning the division.

if the Steelers go 10-6, they have a very good shot ofwinning the division, (>80%). as they'd win any tie with Cincy. But the Steeler shot at getting 10 wins is 0.8%

Not impossible, better than your chance of winning the lottery, but not bloody likely

 

I know the Steelers stunk to start this season and are currently 3-6 but looking at the remaining schedule it is very possible to roll off a bunch of wins granted they play the way the talent is capable of playing. This team has playmakers but the O-line needs to step up to allow those players to excel.


Lions - Pressure Stafford and make it a long day for him. Play keep away ball control time consuming offense. Winnable
At Browns - O-Line needs to step up and pound the ball to set up play action. Winnable
At Rats - It'll be another slobber knocker typical dog fight. Winnable
Dolphins - In December at Home. Very winnable.
Bungles - Pressure Dalton and contain the screens to the RB's. Winnable.
At Packers - Currently a very injured team but too far off to project their health for the game. Toss up.
Cleveland - It'll be a must win to win the division so the Steelers should bring it.

This remaining schedule shouldn't scare anyone.

Of coarse we need the other AFC North teams to drop but they have proven that they stink almost as bad as we have to begin the season.

Bengals. Lots of talent on Offense but two best defensive players on IR. Coaching is horrid.
Ravens. Ray Rice is 2.7 YPC average this year and Flacco is Flacco,.
Browns. Defense is getting better but Offense is terrible.

 

Originally, I thought NO.

But with a few injuries to key players, ex: Manning has aggravated high ankle sprain.
An injury could devastate a team, look at Chicago and Green Bay.

There's just a slight chance if the real Steeler D shows up and Ben stays healthy!

 

we can only get ready for the lions. this week is a must win. that should be the focus for the team.

 

Normally, I would agree with ya Mac, but with the division games we have left to play, it`s CONCIEVABLE(not likeley, but still possible), we could win the division, even if we lose to Detroit(which seems likely, based on our play so far...)...
If that is our ONLY loss the rest of this year, I can see Cincy, Balt, and Cleve losing enuff games to still give us the division at 9-7...
On the other hand, beating Detroit, would show me this team, has finally "found their focus", and is ready to compete in any game.
Beating the Bills was nice, but I still saw plenty of "chinks in the armor".
I just don`t think our D can shut Detroit down, like they did the Bills...
If they can, my hopes for winning the division increase exponentially!
I rerally think Det., and Cleve, are gonna be the 2 toughest teams to beat.
I know all about Balt, and Cincy, but I think we can take `em...
Cleve is gonna be hungrier than either of them, right now, and Detroit is probably the highest powered offense we face, from here on out, unless Rodgers heals up in tiime for our game against the Pack...
I gotta go with all the previous posters who said... "possible, but not likely"...
I can see it happening, but we gotta play like we wanna win every week, no letdowns/sloppy play, and if teams in our division lose a couple to teams out of our division, we might get lucky...
GO STEELERS!!!

 

I just mean one game at a time should be our focus, not the big picture.

 

And you`re right, of course...
Just saying, I won`t give up hope if we lose to Detroit.
Will have a bit more hope, if we play as well against them, as we did Buffalo, tho...
GO STEELERS!~

 

HONESTLY? Yes.
PROBABLY? No.