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Steelers 2020 strength of schedule is meaningless

By Eric Hassel

NASHVILLE, TN - AUGUST 25: Head Coach Mike Tomlin of the Pittsburgh Steelers on the sidelines during a game against the Tennessee Titans during week three of preseason at Nissan Stadium on August 25, 2019 in Nashville, Tennessee. The Steelers defeated the Titans 18-6. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)
NASHVILLE, TN - AUGUST 25: Head Coach Mike Tomlin of the Pittsburgh Steelers on the sidelines during a game against the Tennessee Titans during week three of preseason at Nissan Stadium on August 25, 2019 in Nashville, Tennessee. The Steelers defeated the Titans 18-6. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images) /
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The Steelers enter the 2020 campaign with an ‘easy’ schedule, right? Wrong. Strength of schedule is meaningless.

With the recent release of the Steelers 2020 schedule, I immediately thought about the term ‘strength of schedule’.  According to CBSSPORTS, the Steelers 2020 strength of schedule is the second easiest in the league. The 2019 winning percentage of our opponents in the upcoming season was .457.

So on paper, the Steelers should finish the 2020 season with the second-best record in the NFL, right?  Not so fast.  It doesn’t generally work that way.  The 2019 season is not indicative of how the Steelers or their opponents will perform.

Every team navigated both a free agency period and the NFL draft, meaning every team or almost every team signed free agents, either their own pending free agents or free agents who previously played for another team.

Every team participated in the NFL draft, meaning every team added players whom, I would assume, they believe can contribute to a successful 2020 season.  The Steelers are no different in the aforementioned respects.

I think the issue with the schedule has more to do with what team the Steelers play and when they play said team.  For example, opening up on the road on Monday night puts us at a disadvantage. Conversely, hosting a divisional opponent on Thanksgiving would presumably give the Steelers an advantage.  If you haven’t seen the schedule yet, here it is:  Steelers 2020 schedule

So as we progress through this particular discussion, keep in mind that easy on paper does not necessarily translate to easy in reality.  With that said, let’s take a look at the Steelers 2020 schedule.

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