5 things to watch for with Steelers schedule set to be released

Following in the footsteps of the Super Bowl, combine and first day of the draft, the annual schedule release has become a tent-pole event for the NFL.

What once took place in April during the run-up to the draft, the schedule release keeps getting pushed back deeper into May.

After thousands of computer simulations, the 272-game schedule will be released in its entirety at 8 p.m. Wednesday. It will represent the work done by six league executives that exhausted countless hours of projections while taking into account national television matchups and stadium logistics, among other factors.

Steelers fans are primarily interested in the 17 games that will involve their favorite team: the eight to be played at Acrisure Stadium this year and the nine that will happen on the road. The opponents already are known. The dates and times will complete the puzzle.

Here is a breakdown of what might be in store for the Steelers this season once the schedule finally is released:

1. Division of labor

A talking point once the schedule is released is the allocation of divisional games. Not just when the Steelers play the Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals and Cleveland Browns but where those games are contested.

In three of the past six years, for instance, the Steelers have closed the season at Baltimore. They finished against the Ravens again last year, playing the finale on a Saturday and then sweating out the Sunday games to get the help required to earn the No. 7 playoff seed.

Since the NFL went to a 17-game schedule in 2021, one thing has held true for the Steelers. They played two of their six division games in the first nine weeks, with the final four being held in the second half of the year.

Last year, the Steelers didn’t face the Bengals for the first time until the second half of the season. The previous two years, the Ravens had those honors.

If the schedule holds true to form, expect the Steelers to have a back-loaded slate of AFC North games.

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2. Strong man competition

Based on the records from the 2023 season, the NFL has determined that the Steelers have the third-most difficult schedule at a .533 winning percentage. The two teams the Steelers trail also play in the AFC North. Cleveland is first, with the Browns’ opponents having a .547 winning percentage in 2023. Baltimore is second with a .536 opponent winning percentage.

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Where does your team land?

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— NFL (@NFL) May 14, 2024

One reason is the AFC North is matched up with NFC East this year. Dallas, at 12-5, and Philadelphia, at 11-6, were two of the top teams in the NFC last season.

The Steelers play the Cowboys at home (along with the New York Giants) and travel to Philadelphia (and Washington).

Analytics guru Warren Sharp throws out last year’s results and bases his difficulty of schedule rankings on projected totals from the Las Vegas bookmakers among other data. Sharp has the Steelers listed as playing the most difficult schedule in 2024. The Browns and Ravens also are in Sharp’s top five.

3. Thursday night lights

Starting last season, the NFL decided not every team was required to play a Thursday night game following one on Sunday. In a first, the league also allowed for some teams to play two times on short rest during the season.

The Steelers were a test case, appearing twice on Thursday night last year. The supposed benefit for the Steelers was that each game was scheduled at home and followed Sunday games also played at Acrisure Stadium.

Home field proved to be an advantage in early November against the Tennessee Titans, not so much a month later when the Steelers played the New England Patriots. The Steelers lost that game and became the first team in history to lose to opponents with 2-10 records in back-to-back games.

4. Holiday tidings

Despite Christmas falling on a Wednesday this year, the NFL has decided to play two games on that day, which means that four teams won’t play on the previous Sunday. Netflix has emerged as a potential broadcast partner for those games along with Amazon Prime.

The Steelers haven’t played on Christmas since 2017, when they went on the road to face the Houston Texans. A year earlier, the Steelers played their first Christmas game when they hosted the Ravens in the Immaculate Extension victory courtesy of Antonio Brown.

Thanksgiving is another option. The Steelers have played eight times on that Thursday in November and just twice this century. The last Thanksgiving game took place in 2016 at Indianapolis. They were supposed to play the Ravens at home on turkey day in 2020, but the game was postponed multiple dates because of the pandemic.

The cat's out of the bag.

Week two. Bengals. Our house. ???? pic.twitter.com/Y23xBJiHZ3

— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) May 14, 2024

5. Hail the Chiefs

The marquee home game of the season will involve a visit from the Kansas City Chiefs, who will seek to become the first team to win three consecutive Super Bowl titles.

Two of Kansas City’s games against AFC North opponents have been determined. The Chiefs open the season at home against Baltimore on Sept. 5 and will host the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 2. That leaves road games against the Steelers and Browns to be determined.