Pittsburgh Steelers unbeaten odds: Still longer shots to reach 16-0 and now without Bud Dupree for season

The Pittsburgh Steelers did not look very good, especially on offense, in beating a severely short-handed Baltimore Ravens team 19-14 on Wednesday afternoon, but a win is a win and Pittsburgh is now 11-0 for the first time in franchise history. William Hill Sportsbook oddsmakers still are skeptical that the Steelers will finish 16-0, though, as they list that chance at +300 on the NFL futures odds with no a -380 heavy favorite. Pittsburgh's chances won't be helped by the loss of pass-rushing linebacker Bud Dupree to a season-ending torn ACL.

Dupree is believed to have been hurt on a non-contact play in the second half vs. Baltimore. Pittsburgh leads the NFL in scoring defense (17.1 ppg), sacks (41) and takeaways (23). No team has finished a season leading in all three since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970. TJ Watt leads the team with 11 sacks and might win Defensive Player of the Year, while Dupree is second with eight sacks. The 2015 first-round pick out of Kentucky, who will be a free agent this winter, also has 29 tackles, two forced fumbles and two forced sacks.

Third-round rookie Alex Highsmith will start for Dupree. Highsmith has played 128 defensive snaps with 20 tackles, a sack, an interception and three tackles for loss. The Steelers already were a bit thin at linebacker after losing another former first-round pick, Devin Bush, to a torn ACL in October.

The last team to start 11-0 was the Carolina Panthers in 2015 – they started 14-0 led by eventual NFL MVP Cam Newton but finished 15-1 and would not win the Super Bowl, upset by Peyton Manning's Denver Broncos.

Speaking of Manning, he had been the only quarterback since at least 1950 to win each of his first 11 games in a season twice (2005 & 2009), but now Big Ben has joined him as Roethlisberger was 13-0 as a starter in 2004. Pittsburgh didn't open that year with Big Ben as the starter but Tommy Maddox.

Pittsburgh should reach 12-0 even without Dupree as the Steelers host the Washington Football Team (early game of a doubleheader) on Monday as an opening 8.5-point favorite. The Steelers would clinch a playoff spot with a victory.

However, the Steelers could be short underdogs Week 14 in Buffalo depending on what happens in Week 13 – early odds do have the Bills at +2.

No question that Pittsburgh will be favored Week 15 in Cincinnati and Week 16 vs. Indianapolis, but Week 17 at Cleveland could be tricky. If Pittsburgh has the top seed in the AFC locked up and is 15-0, does Mike Tomlin rest his starters or try for history? What if the Browns must win to end their nearly two-decade playoff drought?

Would an unbeaten Steelers team potentially be a home underdog in the AFC Championship Game vs. the one-win Chiefs? Read here for that. Kansas City remains the AFC (+125) and Super Bowl favorite (+260) at William Hill. Pittsburgh is +220 for the conference title and +550 to win Super Bowl 55.

So which teams should you back in Week 13 of the 2020 NFL season? And which Super Bowl contender goes down HARD? ... Join SportsLine right now to see who wins and covers every single NFL game this week, plus get the exact final score, all from the acclaimed model that has returned over $7,800 on its top-rated NFL picks!