clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Broncos playoffs 2015: Odds are, Broncos will play Steelers

It looks like the Denver Broncos will be facing the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Divisional Round of the 2014-2015 playoffs, according to oddsmakers.

Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports

The Denver Broncos will play someone on Sunday, January 11th. Whom they'll play hasn't quite been decided.

It's down to three teams: the Pittsburgh Steelers (11-5, 3rd seed), the Indianapolis Colts (11-5, 4th seed), or the Cincinnati Bengals (10-5-1, 5th seed) The Broncos cannot play the Baltimore Ravens (10-6, 6th seed) in the Divisional Round because a Ravens win would guarantee them a trip to face the first seed New England Patriots (12-4).

Who the Broncos would play

The short version:

  • If the Steelers win, the Broncos will play the Steelers.
  • Otherwise (if the Ravens win), the Broncos will play the winner of Bengals at Colts.

The short-short version: the Broncos will play the highest remaining seed of these three teams.

Wild Card odds

Both home teams are favorites. As of Monday, the Steelers are 3.5-point favorites to beat the Ravens in Pittsburgh.

The Broncos have a 64.3% chance of playing the Steelers

The Colts are 4-point favorites to beat the Bengals in Indianapolis after opening as 6-point favorites.

Either or both of these lines may keep moving.

Steelers, Colts or Bengals?

I took these odds and turned them into percentage-chances of a straight up victory using this chart.

BAL at PIT
winner
CIN at IND
winner
% chance DEN
would play
Scenario 1 PIT CIN 42.3% PIT
Scenario 2 PIT CIN 22.0% PIT
Scenario 3 BAL IND 23.5% IND
Scenario 4 BAL CIN 12.2% CIN

Based on those odds Monday morning and seeding rules, the Broncos have a 64.3% chance of playing the Steelers in the Divisional Round. The Broncos have a 23.5% chance of playing the Colts, and they have a 12.2% chance of playing the Bengals.

While most of Broncos Country wants revenge on the Bengals in two weeks, odds are, it'll be the Steelers coming to town.