NFL standings ordered by point differential: Steelers encouraging despite loss
By Tommy Jaggi
The Pittsburgh Steelers are coming off a disheartening Thursday Night Football loss to the Cleveland Browns. Entering Week 12, the Browns were a 2-8 football team void of hope for the 2024 season and nothing more to play for than bragging rights over their AFC North rivals.
Mike Tomlin's team now sits on an 8-3 record entering Week 13. Shockingly, all three of their losses came against teams who currently have a combined record of 12-22 on the season and a combined point differentital of -211 on the season.
There is hope. Despite their struggles against inferior opponents, the Pittsburgh Steelers still rank inside the top ten in one of the most important statistical categories: point differential.
NFL point differential entering Week 13:
RANK | TEAM | POINT DIFFERENTIAL (+/-) |
|---|---|---|
1 | Detroit Lions | +177 |
2 | Buffalo Bills | +106 |
3 | Philadelphia Eagles | +97 |
4 | Minnesota Vikings | +77 |
5 | Los Angeles Chargers | +75 |
6 | Pittsburgh Steelers | +66 |
7 | Green Bay Packers | +65 |
8 | Baltimore Ravens | +63 |
9 | Denver Broncos | +62 |
10 | Washington Commanders | +57 |
11 | Kansas City Chiefs | +52 |
12 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | +36 |
13 | Houston Texans | +17 |
14 | Arizona Cardinals | +8 |
15 | Chicago Bears | +4 |
16 | Seattle Seahawks | +2 |
17 | New Orleans Saints | +2 |
18 | Cincinnati Bengals | +1 |
19 | San Francisco 49ers | 0 |
20 | Miami Dolphins | -21 |
21 | Atlanta Falcons | -30 |
22 | Indianapolis Colts | -32 |
23 | New York Jets | -38 |
24 | Los Angeles Rams | -43 |
25 | Cleveland Browns | -81 |
26 | New England Patriots | -85 |
27 | Tennessee Titans | -88 |
28 | New York Giants | -89 |
29 | Dallas Cowboys | -98 |
30 | Jacksonville Jaguars | -108 |
31 | Las Vegas Raiders | -108 |
32d | Carolina Panthers | -146 |
With just six weeks remaining in the 2024 season, the Pittsburgh Steelers rank 6th in the NFL in point differential at +66. When you break this down to a per-game basis, Tomlin's team is outpacing their opponents by a touchdown per game (minus the point after).
Data suggests Steelers are contender despite loss vs. Browns
Pittsburgh is in good company with this statistic, as the five teams ranked below them are the Packers, Ravens, Broncos, Commanders, and Chiefs. Additionally, the Steelers are merely an 11-point swing away from jumping into fourth place on this list and trailing only elite teams like the Lions, Bills, and Eagles.
This is a far cry from the teams at the bottom of this list. The Panthers sit at the bottom of the league at 146 points in the hole on the season. Teams like the Dallas Cowboys (-98) and New England Patriots (-85) make the Steelers look all the better.
While Pittsburgh's Week 12 loss against the Browns was infuriating, their point differential certainly isn't concerning enough to sound the alarm. There are many statistics used to judge how a team is performing in respect to the competition, but point differential is typically one of the most telling.
The Steelers aren't guaranteed to maintain their +66 point differential by the end of the season (or even have a positive number in this department after Week 18). But as of now, the data suggests this is still a competitive team that is playing on the season as their 8-3 record suggests.
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