ESPN says Steelers have a lower chance of winning their division than the Eagles

The analytics at ESPN predicts that the Steelers have a worse chance of winning their division than the Eagles do in 2020.

Even with a less than stellar performance against the Dallas Cowboys this week, somehow the Pittsburgh Steelers managed to find a way to win. After winning their third straight game on the road, Mike Tomlin’s team is now 8-0 – marking the greatest start in the history of the franchise.

Remarkably, Pittsburgh isn’t in the clear just yet. According to ESPN’s Football Power Index, the 3-4-1 Philadelphia Eagles have a better chance of winning the NFC East this year than the Steelers have of winning the AFC North:

What’s up with Steelers odds of winning the division?

This is really quite remarkable when you think about the difference between these two divisions. The top three teams in the AFC North currently have a combined record of 19-5 while the top three teams in the NFC East have a combined record of 7-17-1, according to NFL.com standings.

It’s not often that you see this type of discrepancy at the halfway mark of the NFL season, but when you think about it, it’s not too hard to see why the Eagles still stand a better shot than Pittsburgh.

Despite the Steelers two-game lead over the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC North, we all know that the Ravens are a good football team with one of the best point differentials in the NFL. If they are able to beat Pittsburgh in their next contest against each other, and assuming the Steelers lose at least one other game this season, this could be anyone division.

On the other hand, the Eagles are really lacking in competition in the NFC East. The Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants are both 2-7 and are going nowhere fast. The Giants are poised to be a bottom-five team in the league this year, while Dallas lost quarterback Dak Prescott as well as both starting offensive tackles for the season. Currently, Washington currently sits on a 2-6 record, and the team has already moved on from quarterback Dwayne Haskins.

Whether the Eagles win their division or not, I wouldn’t swap places with them if we could. The Steelers are probably just a game away from mathematically locking up a playoff spot this season – no matter what happens in the second half of the year. In addition, there’s not only a good chance they will win the AFC North this year, but they could very realistically earn the number one seed in the entire AFC.

At the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter what ESPN’s FPI has to say about the Steelers chances of winning the division this year. One thing we know is that Pittsburgh will be in the 2020 playoffs in some way, shape, or form.