Facing a daunting schedule that includes nine playoff teams from 2014, will the Steelers find a way to compete for supremacy in the AFC?
If the Pittsburgh Steelers hope to repeat as division champions and put themselves in position to make a successful playoff run in 2015, they will have to do it while dealing with the most difficult schedule in the NFL.
Go ahead, pull that bad boy out and look at it. It’s a proverbial death march that is chocked full of teams expected to be playoff contenders in both the AFC and NFC. In fact, speaking of the playoffs, nine of the 16 teams on the docket this year made the postseason in 2014, and two others that had winning records.
That means the Steelers will only have five opponents who lost more than seven games last season.
The Steelers will begin the season not only knowing they have to travel for a Thursday night opener against the defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots at Foxboro, but that the aggregate winning percentage of all Steelers opponents is .579.
Not exactly a cakewalk for the defending AFC North champions.
Can the Steelers find a way to work through a brutal schedule that could easily make even having a winning record a challenge this season? Will they somehow find a way to match or better their 11-5 record from 2014? It certainly will not be easy, but it can be done, and there are a number of ways to do it.
Number one, get off to a fast start. Though any scenario that involves a road trip to Foxboro is daunting in itself, there is a very good chance the Patriots will be without Tom Brady for the opener. If Matt Flynn or Jimmy Garapolo are forced to start at quarterback, the odds obviously increase substantially of the Steelers pulling off a road upset.
With a home game against a 49ers squad that looks like they will struggle, a trip to St. Louis followed by another Thursday night contest at home against the Ravens, it’s imperative the Steelers win at least three of four.
Two, win the games you are supposed to win. Ask any detractor of Mike Tomlin and one of the first things they will bring up is the Steelers struggles against teams they should beat. Last year did more to give that argument credence, as the Steelers inexplicably lost to the lowly Buccaneers, Jets, Browns and Saints.
Those four teams combined to win a grand total of 20 games last year, and though the losses did not stop the Steelers from winning the division, it contributed to them losing a potential playoff bye. That might have come in handy, especially if it meant being able to rest Le’Veon Bell and his knee sprain an extra week.
Although it’s hard to find many “cupcakes” on the schedule, match ups against the 49ers, Rams, Browns and Raiders have a “must-win” feel to them. Considering some of the other teams on the schedule like the Colts, Seahawks, Broncos, Bengals and Ravens, they really are games the Steelers can’t afford to lose.
Finally, the Steelers must dominate at home. Four of the eight home contests have west coast teams making the difficult trip to Heinz Field, and the Steelers must take advantage of this. Add the three divisional contests at home and taking care of business at home should do much to help the Steelers push towards the 10-win plateau. Something that is almost certain to be needed to get into the playoffs.
