4 of 4 models favor the Steelers.
On average the models have the Steelers by 2.3 points, a 58% win chance.
Early prediction, updates weekly until kickoff.
Data through Week 5's games (the last played Mon, Oct 12), from nflverse play-by-play; nflverse last published it .
| Model | Says | Win chance |
|---|---|---|
| Consensus (our call)The average of Our model, Elo, SRS and ESPN FPI (whichever are there); the market is left out. This is our call. | Steelers by 2.3 | 58% |
| Our model ExperimentalOur ratings from nflverse play-by-play: opponent-adjusted EPA per play, home field and the starting quarterback, frozen on the 2024 season and tested once on 2025. Experimental. | Steelers by 1.4 | 54% |
| EloEvery team's Elo rating from every game since 1999 (FiveThirtyEight's method). | Steelers by 4.1 | 64% |
| SRSSimple Rating System: points scored minus allowed, adjusted for the schedule, blended with last season early on. Settings chosen by hand, not tuned. | Steelers by 1.4 | 54% |
| ESPN FPIESPN's Football Power Index matchup predictor, read from ESPN before kickoff. Read in the week of the game. | Available game week | — |
| RecordThe team with the better record this season; equal records go to the home team. A winner only. | Steelers | — |
Our model is experimental. Season so far (79 games, Weeks 1–4 reconstructed): it missed the final margin by 9.8 points on average, the market's margin by 9.8; ours was closer in 38 of 79. Scorecard →
Not named yet. The quarterbacks we assume show here in game week: once every earlier game is in, or two days before Week 16's first kickoff.
The official Week 16 injury report isn't out yet. It shows here once nflverse has it, in the week of the game.
Headlines and a line or two from each outlet's own feed, linked to the original; the stories are theirs, not ours.
Opponent-adjusted, from nflverse play-by-play, through Week 5 (the games played so far); league rank in brackets.
| Panthers | Steelers | |
|---|---|---|
| Net EPA per play | +0.07 (7th) | −0.03 (22nd) |
| Offense, EPA per play | +0.08 (7th) | −0.02 (18th) |
| Defense, EPA per play allowed (lower is better) | +0.01 (19th) | +0.01 (18th) |
| Passing offense, EPA per dropback | +0.19 (4th) | −0.01 (22nd) |
| Rushing offense, EPA per run | −0.12 (21st) | −0.02 (7th) |
| Offense success rate | 44% (15th) | 43% (18th) |
The Steelers won 5 of the last 5 meetings.
| Dec 18, 2022Week 15, 2022 | Steelers 24, Panthers 16at Carolina |
| Nov 8, 2018Week 10, 2018 | Steelers 52, Panthers 21at Pittsburgh |
| Sep 21, 2014Week 3, 2014 | Steelers 37, Panthers 19at Carolina |
| Dec 23, 2010Week 16, 2010 | Steelers 27, Panthers 3at Pittsburgh |
| Dec 17, 2006Week 15, 2006 | Steelers 37, Panthers 3at Carolina |