The NFL has officially released the Pittsburgh Steelers schedule for the 2022 season. Here are three games they cannot afford to lose this year.
The Pittsburgh Steelers 2022 schedule has officially been released on Thursday evening. Though we already knew which opponents they would be facing this year, we now know when each game will occur.
Mike Tomlin’s team gets a tough task to begin the 2022 season kicking things off on the road against Cincinnati. All around, nothing looks like a breeze for a Steelers team that narrowly made the playoffs last year.
There are going to be many games this year where Pittsburgh is going to be the underdog. That’s just the reality of the situation. Knowing they face a daunting task ahead, here are three games they absolutely cannot afford to lose this year:
Week 4: Jets @ Steelers
The New York Jets are not a divisional opponent, but dropping this game would be most unfortunate. To begin the season, Pittsburgh is on the road against the Bengals, home against the Patriots, and on the road against the Browns.
While I don’t want to be pessimistic this early in the process, it seems likely Pittsburgh could exit this three-game stretch 1-2. If this is the case, dropping another game to a beatable Jets team would be catastrophic to begin the season.
The Jets are no longer a cakewalk. They improved as much as any team this offseason, and Zach Wilson has the arm (and now weapons) to make something happen against Pittsburgh’s defense. At least on paper, the Steelers don’t have many easier games than home against the Jets in Week 4. They must come away with a win here.
Week 13: Steelers @ Falcons
The second game Steelers can’t afford to lose after their 2022 schedule release is Week 13 on the road against the Atlanta Falcons. This game will come in the second half of the year, and I have a feeling there will be quite a bit at stake at this point.
While the Falcons aren’t even an AFC opponent that could jeopardize Pittsburgh’s conference schedule, this is one of the easiest games the Steelers will face all season (at least on paper).
Too often, however, we have seen Mike Tomlin’s teams struggle with uncommon opponents on the road with records under .500. If Pittsburgh wants a shot at the playoffs, that reputation for dropping games they should win needs to end this year.
In the NFL, any team is good enough to beat any other on a given week. However, the Steelers have a more talented roster and they need to be able to stick it to the Falcons before a brutal stretch of games to close the season.
Week 3: Steelers @ Browns
This seems like a given. The Steelers start off the season with a remarkably difficult task — first on the road against the AFC Champion Cincinnati Bengals then hosting Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots.
Last year, Pittsburgh finished 4-2 against their AFC North rivals on the season, but it’s probably unfair to expect a repeat of that in 2022 — especially considering the quarterbacks they are now up against in the conference.
Considering their early schedule, an 0-2 start to the season seems plausible, and dropping a third straight game against the Browns to begin the season would be catastrophic to their playoff chances. Not only is Cleveland a divisional opponent, but there is also a team that could be fighting for the same playoff spot as Pittsburgh in 2022.
It goes without saying, that every divisional game is very important, but Pittsburgh needs to keep their head above water in the AFC North if they want to have a shot at the playoffs this year.
Obviously, we have seen the Steelers upset teams in the past and I would expect that to happen a time or two again in 2022. However, these are three games Pittsburgh must win as the race for a playoff spot in the AFC is projected to be incredibly tight.