While the official schedule has yet to be released, the stage has already been set for the Pittsburgh Steelers opponents both home and away for 2013. The AFC North will be matched-up against the NFC North and AFC East in addition to their regular six divisional games. The Steelers also get to tangle with the Tennessee Titans at Heinz Field and Oakland Raiders on the road after finishing third in the AFC North this past season.
First off, let’s get the AFC North division out of the way. As usual, the Steelers will face the Cleveland Browns, Cincinnati Bengals, and Baltimore Ravens in traditional home/away games. Both Cincinnati and Baltimore are coming off playoff seasons, with the Ravens in the final four this weekend with a chance to go to their second Super Bowl. The Browns will be starting over once again with a new head coach, Rod Chudzinski. With the exception of RB Trent Richardson, it is tough to predict what the 2013 Browns roster will look like. With the Bengals and Ravens, we know the Steelers will be in for tough battles with both teams.
At home, it is safe to say that Heinz Field will be rocking in 2013. The Steelers will host the Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins, Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions, and Tennessee Titans. Not a super-tough home slate, but a few games that we have not seen in Pittsburgh for a few years. The Steelers will play the Titans for the third straight season, losing to Tennessee last season on the road. The last time the Titans came to Heinz Field was in 2011, when the Steelers beat them 38-17 in a game that wasn’t nearly as close as the score.
The Buffalo Bills will come to Heinz Field for the first time since 2007, when they left town after a 26-3 beating. The Bills will be led by new head coach Doug Marrone and could have a new starter at Quarterback as well, a possible target for them in the upcoming NFL Draft. The Steelers beat Buffalo at Ralph Wilson Stadium in 2010, an overtime victory by a slim 19-16 margin. The Miami Dolphins last trip to Heinz Field is remembered as the “mud bowl”, a game played in the worst conditions imaginable. The game was played on a playing surface that had hosted four high-school playoff games, a Pitt football home game, and finally the Steelers-Dolphins game. A four day rain storm and cold temperatures turned the Heinz Field grass into a soupy mess that made footing impossible for both Steelers and Dolphins players. The game ended on a Jeff Reed FG with time expiring that gave the Steelers a 3-0 win.
The last time the Chicago Bears played at Heinz Field was in 2005, a game that is remembered by many as the turning point in the Steelers Super Bowl XL run. The game was played in a snowstorm, and highlighted by the classic moment of RB Jerome Bettis running over LB Brian Urlacher to score a touchdown, an image captured and utilized on many highlight films since then. The Steelers would go on to win that game 21-9 on their way to four straight wins to end the season and secure the #6 seed in the AFC Playoffs. It was during that same season that the Detroit Lions last visited Pittsburgh, a Week 17 match-up that marked the final home game for Bettis at Heinz Field. The Lions were en route to a 5-11 record and didn’t stand a chance against the surging Steelers, who won going away 35-21. The Steelers last played Detroit in 2009, winning a 28-20 game at Ford Field in Detroit.
The road schedule for the 2013 Steelers is where the men will be separated from the boys.
The Steelers will renew their decade-long rivalry with the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium. The Patriots could once again be coming off a Super Bowl season, depending on how this weekend goes for them. Regardless, you can expect little change to the Patriots team as they will again be led by QB Tom Brady. The Steelers last trip to New England was in 2008, when they faced the Patriots without Brady and hammered their rivals 33-10 on the way to Super Bowl XLIII. Despite that win, the Steelers record in Gillette Stadium leaves a lot to be desired, and this game will probably end up in Prime Time.
The New York Jets will play host to the Steelers for the first time since 2007, when a team of back-ups and castoffs shocked Pittsburgh at the old Meadowlands 19-16 in overtime. There have been plenty of Steelers-Jets match-ups since that time, including an AFC Championship Game that saw the Steelers win 24-19 at Heinz Field on their way to Super Bowl XLV. This time, gang green will get the Steelers on their home turf. This won’t be the toughest game on the schedule, but the Jets always play the Steelers well so we can expect a lively affair in the new Meadowlands stadium.
The Oakland Raiders have been a thorn in the Steelers side for years, and once again the Raiders will have a chance to play host to Pittsburgh in 2013. The Steelers will look to avenge an upset loss to Oakland in 2012, and avoid losing three straight games at O.co Coliseum, dating all the way back to 2006.
The Steelers will renew their cross-conference rivalry with their Super Bowl XLV opponents the Green Bay Packers in 2013. Pittsburgh will play at historic Lambeau Field for the first time since 2005, a game they won 20-10 against the Brett Favre led Packers. Anytime these historic franchises meet, the game is treated like NFL royalty, so expect a big media run-up to the affair.
The longest road trip the Steelers will take in 2013 will be for their match-up against the Adrian Peterson led Minnesota Vikings. Instead of trekking to Minneapolis, the Steelers will board a plane and head to London to represent the NFL in the 2013 International Series. The Vikings are coming off a playoff season and are one of the up-and-coming teams in the NFC. It will be the Steelers first regular season game outside of the United States.
Even though we won’t have the actual schedule announced until Spring, taking a look at just the opponents the Steelers will be facing should give you a pretty nice idea of what 2013 holds in store for the transitioning Steelers.
