Tim Benz: Many complaints over the Steelers' schedule are preemptive excuse making

There sure seems to be a lot of complaining from Pittsburgh Steelers fans and media when it comes to how the NFL drew up the schedule for the Black and Gold.

NFL has beef with the Steelers.

4/6 road games to open the year

5/7 road games between weeks 10-16

3 days of rest between Chiefs and Ravens (Eagles on front end of that, Bengals on backend). What are we doing here Goodell? pic.twitter.com/6zkrpfup3L

— Jonathon (@JN_Steve_) May 15, 2024

Just so people fully grasp how badly the Steelers and their fans are getting screwed by the NFL…

Week 16 Saturday Dec 21 AT Ravens

4 days later…

Week 17 Wednesday Xmas vs Chiefs

I'm told consternation over this partly led to NFL schedule release delay.

— Andrew Fillipponi (@ThePoniExpress) May 15, 2024

If anyone deserves to complain about this year's schedule it's the Steelers. They get 3 games in 10 days in Weeks 15-17 while playing the Ravens on a Saturday (who have a Week 14 bye) followed by a short turnaround against Patrick Mahomes on Christmas. Brutal. pic.twitter.com/eHbgr9NosF

— Kyle Lindemann (@LuckIsMadeFF) May 16, 2024

Yeah the NFL hates the Steelers. 6 divisional games, in the most physical division, in the last 8 weeks. 3 games in 10 days.. if they don't go 7-3/8-2 the first 10 weeks it's gonna be hard to make the playoffs thanks to that scheduling https://t.co/15dswcZIlj

— Malachi Hammerle (@Hammer_95) May 16, 2024

I swear Satan himself made the #Steelers’ schedule this year smh. This is absolutely brutal. We'll be undefeated going into December anyways, but still.

I said what I said. #HereWeGo https://t.co/mnskvAHJc7

— B-Wall (@BWall) May 15, 2024

That’s a heavy helping of hyperbole right there, and it’s just a smattering of what I saw online in the wake of this week’s schedule release.

If the NFL “hates” the Steelers so much, why are they on primetime at home (where they usually thrive) so much? And if the team is really good enough to be “undefeated going into December,” does it really matter how tough the last few weeks of the schedule are? I mean, if that’s the case, the team is going to be (writer pauses to clear throat for much-needed dramatic effect) 11-0 by the end of November??!!

Hey, I get it. The NFL didn’t do the Steelers any favors by mashing together all six AFC North contests late in the season leading up to that Christmas home game against the Kansas City Chiefs. What was already a difficult schedule likely just became harder, given how the calendar filled up from mid-November until the end of the year.

Based on last year’s results, CBS has the Steelers’ schedule as the third hardest in the NFL. According to Sharp Football Analysis, based on projected win totals, it’s the hardest.

The list of opponents Pittsburgh was slated to face was always going to be difficult. That’s based on the league’s mathematical scheduling formula, not some grand conspiracy by commissioner Roger Goodell against the franchise. Granted, how that difficult schedule has been parsed out over the 18-week campaign doesn’t help.

That’s not going to make or break the Steelers, though. Furthermore, it’s not like the Steelers are the only team that has some odd quirks about their schedule.

• Over the final seven weeks, the Browns have to play six AFC playoff teams from last year. Four of those games — two against the Steelers — are divisional contests. Three of them are on the road. Two others are against Miami and Kansas City. Two of those divisional games are on Thursday nights, separated by less than a month.

• Indeed, the Steelers don’t play an AFC North game until Nov. 17. Well, the Bengals only have one before Nov. 7.

• Upset that the Steelers have to play the Chiefs on a Christmas Wednesday? Well, the Chiefs and Ravens are playing on Christmas for the second year in a row. Baltimore won in San Francisco on Christmas Day 2023. The Chiefs lost at home to Las Vegas.

• The Ravens also have to be the season-opening Thursday Night Football road opponent for the Chiefs as they raise their banner after the Super Bowl win in February. Baltimore doesn’t get its bye until Dec. 8.

While everybody is clutching their Black and Gold pearls over the back half of the schedule, look at the front half. Mike Tomlin’s team plays exactly one playoff team from last year in the first nine games. They don’t play a divisional road game until Nov. 21 at Cleveland.

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Maybe that one guy’s tweet up above wasn’t too far off. Going undefeated until December is far-fetched. But starting 8-1 or 7-2 shouldn’t be if the Steelers really are the type of team some of their fans think they should be.

They better be close to that early-season record, considering how the remaining eight weeks look.

So, do the opposite of what most Tomlin teams have done in recent years. Be sharp early. Harvest wins in the fall so that you have a nice stockpile when the brutal winter hits. Unfortunately, the Steelers are a combined 10-13-1 over the past six seasons when it comes to the first four weeks of play. Four of those wins all occurred in 2020 when they started 11-0.

Not to mention, this is the NFL. Who knows what teams are going to be in great shape by Thanksgiving and which clubs will have highly anticipated seasons derailed by quarterback injuries or other negative factors.

All that being said, the Steelers aren’t going to make the playoffs based on how the schedule is laid out. They are going to make the playoffs based on if they can soak anything out of what’s left of Russell Wilson at quarterback.

Or, perhaps, find what the Bears couldn’t find in Justin Fields at quarterback.

They are going to make the playoffs if Arthur Smith’s run-based offense can operate effectively behind a reconfigured offensive line. They are going to make the playoffs because Cameron Heyward is healthy along the defensive line and the newfound flexibility at inside linebacker meshes with their pass rush and Minkah Fitzpatrick’s playmaking ability at safety.

Or they are going to miss the playoffs because they don’t add to a thin depth chart at wide receiver and cornerback, the quarterbacks don’t pan out, the star players on defense get hurt again, and the offensive line’s youth isn’t ready to catch up to its talent just yet.

They aren’t going to miss the playoffs because of the schedule. That’s preemptive excuse-making.