SEASON FORECASTS AND FUTURES PICKS

While the Texans, Jaguars and Titans all benefit from not having to play Andrew Luck twice a year the teams that might have benefited the most are the Steelers, Ravens and Browns who are now all above 50% in playoff percentage. If the Chargers without Derwin James and Melvin Gordon disappoint early there may be two Wildcard spots available to this division. They are one of 3 teams with 18/1, 5.3% odds to win the Super Bowl. Their 3% chance is #9 in the league which is not high enough to be a good bet. In simulations, they win the AFC 6.6% of the time and are not a good value at 9/1, 10%. The Steelers are averaging 9.2 wins per sim which is essentially the same as their futures line of 9 wins. At -110 the Steelers are a good value to make the playoffs with a 57.7% chance. Their odds of winning their division are 3/2, 40%. They win the division in 36.4% of simulations. Their average wins per simulation puts them at #5 in the AFC.

For winning picks against the spread, total and money line for all NFL games by our proven computer model and leading handicappers visit SportsLine.com where you can also get fantasy football and daily fantasy optimal lineups from CBSSports' Top Experts.

REGULAR SEASON RECAP AND UPCOMING GAMES

They were expected to win 60% of their games last season so their 9-6-1 met expectations. They were solid against the spread going 8-7-1 for (+30 profit). They went over 8 times and came in under 8 times. In their next game vs the Patriots they are only winning 33% of the simulations. The table below shows their upcoming games, their simulation based win percentage and their recent head to head record (WL, ATS, OU).

TEAM OFFENSIVE AND DEFENSIVE STATS WITH LEAGUE RANKINGS

They are an elite scoring team based on points per game, which make sense given their strong yards per play rank. They are a top 10 team based on yards per play allowed but only an average team in points allowed. They are the #18 ranked defense in opponents' TD rate (passing and rushing TDs per offensive play).

TEAM OFFENSE (League Rank):

TEAM DEFENSE:

TEAM FANTASY LEADERS

The table below show the most valuable fantasy players on the team led by JuJu Smith-Schuster who is projected to be the #5 WR. The Better Option column shows the player directly above him and the Better Than column shows the player directly below him in the projected position rankings.