Odds of the Pittsburgh Steelers making the 2016 postseason after their 4-1 start

The Pittsburgh Steelers are off to a tremendous start to the 2016 season, and at 4-1, fans are thinking big. How big? Well the sky is the limit for this team captained by one of the best offensive units in the National Football League, but if you are wondering what the odds are of the black and gold making the postseason, we have that percentage for you right here.

According to Pro-Football Reference, since 1990, a team which starts the season with a 4-1 record makes the playoffs 77-percent of the time. Pretty good odds if you ask me. How significant was that Week 5 win over the New York Jets? If the Steelers would have lost that contest, any team with a record of 3-2 has a 50-percent chance of making the postseason. Quite the difference in just one win.

Check out the graph below, provided by FiveThirtyEight:

So, as the Steelers now prepare for the Miami Dolphins in Week 6, a win could propel them further up the chart, and a 5-1 start would have them sitting with an 85-percent chance of making the big dance at the end of the regular season. Drop the game and a 4-2 team has only a 62-percent chance of playing football in the month of January.

These are just numbers, but these percentages don't lie. No matter how you view this type of material, you can't deny the Steelers fast start out of the gate has them sitting pretty to extend their season beyond the mandated 16-game schedule.