The Pittsburgh Steelers 2022 schedule was officially announced last Thursday night. We already new the teams, now we know the when and where the games will be played. As always, the Steelers schedule has lots of interesting things to discuss. Let’s jump right in and do a deep dive into next season’s slate of games:
Bullet Points:
Steelers have the least amount of travel of any team in the league
Pittsburgh will not leave the Eastern time zone during the 2022 season
The AFC East, and the NFC South will be the divisions the Steelers will face
The Steelers have five prime time games, tied for most in the league
Excluding Miami, the longest flight will be to Atlanta (1h 40m)
Just 6 of the Steelers 2022 opponents made the playoffs in 2021
Weeks 1-4: @Bengals, Patriots, @Browns, Jets
The Steelers begin their 2022 campaign against the defending AFC Champion Cincinnati Bengals. Talk about jumping right into the fire. The Bengals swept the Steelers last season on their way to an AFC North title. Our old nemesis the New England Patriots come to town week two. This is a very different team without Tom Brady. New England’s power run game will test how much the Steelers poor run defense has improved in 2022.
Pittsburgh then faces the Cleveland Browns on Thursday night football. This game should not include Deshaun Watson however. He will undoubtedly be serving some type of suspension for this game. The final game of this four block is a visit from the New York Jets. This is a team that will be greatly improved, and should not be overlooked by the Steelers.
Best Guess: 3-1
Weeks 5-8: @Bills, Buccaneers, @Dolphins, @Eagles
Three out of four road games highlight a very rough patch of the Steelers schedule. It starts with possibly the best team in the AFC in the Buffalo Bills. Pittsburgh has had some success against Buffalo in recent years, but this will be an extremely tough road test. Next comes old friend Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Brady HAS to fall off the cliff sometime rights? Hopefully it will be in 2022.
We then take the longest trip of the schedule for a game in Miami. The lead up to this game should be quite the circus as all the Brian Flores/Dolphins dirty laundry is sure to be discussed in great detail. This is a Sunday night prime time matchup which should only further fan the flames on the drama. https://sports.yahoo.com/more-men-are-joining-brian-flores-lawsuit-which-makes-it-harder-for-the-nfl-to-squirm-out-of-this-175334382.html
On the field, the Dolphins will be a tough test. Acquisitions of Tyreek Hill, and Terron Armstead should make an already dangerous offense even better. How well Tua Tagovailoa plays will be the difference of a good offense, to a great one. Pittsburgh ends this segment of games with cross-state rivals the Philadelphia Eagles.
Best Guess: 1-3
Weeks 10-13: Saints, Bengals, @Colts, @Falcons
After a perfectly scheduled bye in week 9, Pittsburgh faces a very unfamiliar Saints team. No more Drew Brees, or Sean Payton for New Orleans. In their place is Jamies Winston and Dennis Allen. Next is Steelers versus Bengals take two on Sunday Night Football. By this point we should know if we were right to be concerned about this questionable Steelers secondary. Steelers secondary could be a huge weakness in 2022
Up next is the Steelers second straight prime time game with a Monday Night Football tilt versus the Colts. Indianapolis represents the furthest west this team will travel, a mere 360 miles away. The Colts now have Matt Ryan, their third try at a veteran quarterback for this very talented roster. Will Ryan finally do what Carson Wentz and Philip Rivers couldn’t’? This could be one of the best teams in the AFC with competent quarterback play. Following that game is a road trip to Atlanta. This should be one for the win column as the Falcons will be among the worst teams in the league.
Best Guess: 3-1
Weeks 14-17: Ravens, @Panthers, Raiders, @Ravens, Browns
The season wraps up with the first of two games with the arch rival Baltimore Ravens. After what should be a fairly easy win against the Panthers, perhaps the biggest game on the schedule follows. The Steelers and Raiders will do battle on Christmas Eve. This game will mark the 50th anniversary of the famous “Immaculate Reception” game of 1972. Franco Harris among others will be on hand for what should be a really fun look back at one of the greatest games in Steelers history. Not to mention this matchup should be filled with playoff implications for both these franchises.
The final two games are against division opponents Baltimore and Cleveland. This in theory should give the Steelers their first look at a Deshaun Watson led Browns. Cleveland will be an infinitely better team with Watson behind center. If a playoff birth is on the line in week 17, Pittsburgh will certainly be in a dog fight at Heinz Field.
Best Guess: 3-2, Season 10-7