When the Pittsburgh Steelers hung on to pull off a bizarre Week 18 win over the Baltimore Ravens in the 2025 season finale, fans weren't thinking about the ramifications the victory was going to have on the 2026 offseason. And why would they? The Steelers were in the playoffs, and that was the focus.
However, just a few months after their January Wild Card blowout loss to the Houston Texans, we're seeing the ripple effect that winning the AFC North crown had on Pittsburgh.
Owning the No. 21 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, the Steelers narrowly missed out on USC star receiver Makai Lemon, while the Ravens, who picked No. 14 overall, took Penn State fan-favorite guard Olaivagega Ioane.
Now, with the NFL schedule release looming, we're reminded of another effect of winning the AFC North—playing a first-place schedule.
The Pittsburgh Steelers have several daunting 2026 opponents based on 2025 results
Since 2021, the NFL schedule has consisted of 17 games for each of the league's 32 teams—six against division rivals, four against an AFC division, four against an NFC division, and three based on a team's finish from the previous season.
Because the Steelers won their division this past year and claimed the AFC North title, their three extra games will come against fellow first-place finishers around the league. These three contests consist of a home game against the 14-3 Denver Broncos, and away games against the 14-3 New England Patriots and the 11-6 Philadelphia Eagles.
These three daunting opponents combined for a 39-12 record last season... and these are three games the Steelers are likely to be underdogs in.
This doesn't mean that Pittsburgh can't find a way to steal a win (or even two) from their division-winning opponents in 2026. But if we're being honest, the Steelers weren't on the same level as these teams last year, and there's little reason to expect they will be this time around.
Thankfully, the rest of their schedule is reasonable. In addition to facing the Baltimore Ravens, Cleveland Browns, and Cincinnati Bengals two times each, the Steelers will face the AFC South (Texans, Colts, Jaguars, and Titans) and the NFC South (Panthers, Saints, Buccaneers, and Falcons).
Collectively, based on 2025 opponent win percentages, this is just the 19th-hardest schedule in the league. We've known these opponents for months, but we won't know the full Steelers schedule until it drops on May 14.
Even if the Steelers split their divisional games and beat up on the AFC South and NFC South, their first-place schedule games against the Patriots, Eagles, and Broncos could prove to have major implications on the season.
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