Let’s go back one year.
Fans – like this one – were losing their mind over having to finish the season at Seattle and then at Baltimore. I’m pretty sure the National Football League could hear the curse words all the way from Mt. Washington. Something interesting happened on the way to those two final games though. Those “easy wins” against Arizona and New England turned into awful losses making most of the Black and Gold faithful believe the postseason was a pipe dream.
I mention this not because the schedule is same as it was in 2023, but because it illustrates that there really isn’t a reason to go worked up over the schedule. At first glance, the schedule is tough but we knew that already. More importantly, there’s room in this schedule to ‘stack some wins’ but we’ll have to see how things unravel.
Stacked Division
I honestly can’t recall the last time this happened or if ever has period but the Steelers will play six of the final eight games against their Division rivals. Starting in Week 11 against Baltimore at home, the Steelers then travel to Cleveland and Cincinnati. In Week 14 they return home to play the Browns then play at Baltimore in Week 16 and host the Bengals in Week 18.
The only other games in that eight game stretch are at Philadelphia and home on Christmas Day versus the Kansas City Chiefs. Playing the first ten weeks of the season without playing a divisional opponent is odd and frankly is a tough ask of any team going into this stretch.
Early Cobwebs at Acrisure
There won’t be much activity for the first four weeks of the season at Acrisure Stadium as the Steelers will open with three of their first four games on the road (@ATL, @DEN, LAC, @Indianapolis). With such little activity I expect the local spiders to assume no one is around.
Player Safety? Give Me a Break
The NFL needs to stop using the term ‘player safety.’ It’s insulting and down-right laughable. If they were truly concerned about the health and well-being of the players in this league then the Steelers wouldn’t being playing three games in 10 days.
On December 15th, the Steelers will across the Keystone State to play Philly. On the following Saturday, December 21st, the Steelers will host the Ravens. This stretch culminates on December 25th when the Chiefs come in for the Christmas Day game. Even if you changed the opponents, it doesn’t matter. Expecting these guys to perform well in these three games is hoping for a lot but two rivalry games followed by the defending Champions is a real smack in the face.
PrimeTimers
The Steelers are no strangers to the lights and they’ll get four opportunities to play under them in 2024. They’ll be on Sunday Night Football in Weeks Five and Seven as the Dallas Cowboys and New York Jets come to town. In Week eight, they’ll host the New York Giants on Monday Night and then their final Primetime game is in Cleveland Week 12 on a Thursday night.
Screwing the Home Fans
As of this writing, the Steelers will play just four home games at 1pm in 2024. The season finale is at home against the Bengals but time for that game has yet to be set. Don’t be surprised if you see a lot of visiting fans in the seats during those Primetime games as many of the season ticket holders aren’t crazy about that many late games.
The Schedule
@Atlanta 1pm
@Denver 425pm
LA Chargers 1pm
@Indianapolis 1pm
Dallas 820pm (Sun)
@Las Vegas 405pm
NY Jets 820pm (Sun)
NY Giants 815pm (Mon)
BYE WEEK
@Washington 1pm
Baltimore 1pm
@Cleveland 815pm (Thur)
@Cincinnati 1pmET
Cleveland 1pm
@Philadelphia 425pm
Kansas City 1pm (Wed)
Cincinnati TBA
