The Pittsburgh Steelers schedule is finally out. We have known for some time who their opponents would be, but we now know when these games will take place. Let’s take a closer look at the upcoming games for the Steelers in 2020:
Travel: 
When it comes to travel, this may be one of the easiest schedules the Steelers have had in a very long time. There will be no disastrous west coast road trips this season. The team does not go any further west than Dallas on November 8th. They have one trip to Jacksonville, and one to Tennessee on their schedule and that’s pretty much it. After that every other game is either a home game, or a destination that is within driving distance. Pittsburgh finishes off its last five games with three home games sandwiched between trips to Cincinnati and Buffalo. In short, the Steelers could not have asked for a better schedule in terms of travel distance.
Strength of Schedule:
The Steelers have the second easiest strength of schedule when calculating the records of teams in 2019. Pittsburgh’s opponents combined for a 117-139 record, for a .457 winning percentage. Only five of the teams they will face made the playoffs last season. The Steelers will play seven games against clubs that one six games or less the previous year. Things can change dramatically form year to year in the NFL, but this shapes up to be a relatively easy go in 2020.
Prime Time Games:
As it stands now, the Steelers will have four prime time games this season. Keep in mind things can always change with the league’s ability to flex games in and out of the prime time slot. We kick off the season with a Monday night game versus the New York Giants. Next is a rather tasty Thanksgiving night game versus the rival Baltimore Ravens. The season wraps up with two out of three games being in prime time. A Sunday night game against Buffalo, and the following week a Monday night game versus Cincinnati.
New Coaches:
The Steelers will face four of the five new head coaches hired this off-season:
Kevin Stefanski – Cleveland Browns
Joe Judge – New York Giants
Mike McCarthy – Dallas Cowboys
Ron Rivera – Washington Redskins
Under normal circumstances, facing first year head coaches can be an advantage.http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000001096641/article/nfl-coaching-hires-proscons-for-each-of-the-five-new-head-men With the Corona Virus knocking out most of the teams pre-season activities, this advantage becomes even bigger. These teams will struggle to establish their new coaching staffs and new players without the usual mini camps and training camp. A team like the Steelers who have the stability of the same coaching staff for years will almost certainly have a leg up on these other teams.
Rivalry dead:
For the first time since 2015, the Pittsburgh Steelers schedule will not include the hated New England Patriots. This had become as big a rivalry as any division game for Pittsburgh. Even if they were facing each other, some of the luster would have surely worn off with Tom Brady leaving for Tampa Bay. This rivalry which had become so fierce, will never be the same.
Conclusion:
Everything seems to be falling into place for the Pittsburgh Steelers. After years of struggles, the defense has finally become a strength of the team. The offense is now primed for a big improvement with the return of Ben Roehtlisberger. The draft will bring much needed speed to this unit in the forms of Chase Claypool and Anthony McFarland. That is something we have been banging the table for some time now here at this site. Steelers offense has a need for speed
All that alone would be enough to get fans excited. Add in the relatively easy Pittsburgh Steelers schedule, and this has all the makings of a very successful season. There are no brutal west coast trips, and no string of difficult playoff teams on the schedule this year. Lots can change form year to year, but on paper this is a near perfect schedule for the Pittsburgh Steelers.