How the Steelers perform coming off the bye week in October

The Steelers are off this week, getting some much-needed rest ahead of the week eight of their match-up with AFC North rival Cleveland Browns.

Lots of things can happen coming off a bye week, whether in the regular season or the playoffs. So let’s take a look at how fan’s can expect the Pittsburgh Steelers to perform in their week eight game based on passed results when the bye week fell in the month of October.

In October, the Steelers have a 12-6 record against opponents following the bye week, so they tend to do reasonably well, which should hopefully help them against the Cleveland Browns. Oddly enough, though, the NFL typically tends to schedule Pittsburgh either against the Cincinnati Bengals or Cleveland after the October bye week.

As of today, the Steelers have faced the Bengals four times and are 2-2. They faced Cleveland three times (next Sunday will make it four) and are currently 1-2 off the bye week in October, which doesn’t bode well for their next game. Next to Cleveland, the Steelers have faced the Chargers three times and are 2-1 and Philadelphia twice and are 2-0 coming off the October bye week. In total, in October after the bye week, they have faced an AFC opponent 15 times and an NFC opponent only three times.

How Ben Roethlisberger plays following a bye week

In the Big Ben Era, though, there is a silver lining. When you look at all games played coming off the bye since 2004, Pittsburgh is 12-5, which by itself would seem to suggest the black and gold should do very well in the historical sense. However, when you narrow the games following the bye week to October, the Steelers are 9-2, and Roethlisberger is 8-2 as the starter in those games. Their last October loss coming after an October bye week was 10/21/2007 against the Denver Broncos.

This record seems to bode well for the Steelers, with Baker Mayfield missing Thursday’s night game against Denver, while several other of his Cleveland teammates have injuries. Then there is Roethlisberger’s overall record playing in Cleveland, where he is an impressive 11-2-1, meaning the Browns could have issues playing the Steelers.

Steelers on the road after a bye week

However, since the game is on the road, let’s look at how the Steelers fare on the road after the October bye week. The Steelers are 4-4 since 1991, playing on the road after the bye week. Big Ben is 3-2 on the road, so he tends to have better road games in October. Oddly enough, even going on the road after the October bye week, the NFL seems to schedule an AFC North opponent and typically Cleveland.

Since 2000 the Steelers have traveled to Cleveland four times and Cincinnati once. However, from 1994-1998 the Steelers played Cincinnati three consecutive times. What seems a bit strange is that the NFL has never scheduled them to play the Ravens in October after the bye week. That said, the Steelers, in 32 games following the bye week, have only faced the Ravens once, in November of 2016.

Whenever Pittsburgh plays the Browns, it tends to be a memorable game, and next week’s game should prove no exception. Pittsburgh’s record coming off the bye week should add to the excitement as they have some momentum coming off their overtime win against Seattle.