The 2024 season for the Pittsburgh Steelers was a true rollercoaster. A 10-3 record through Week 14 had fans believing the team's playoff losing streak may finally be broken, but a four-game losing streak to end the regular season severely dampened their expectations.
Because they dropped to the 6-seed in the AFC playoffs, they had to go on the road to face their hated rival Baltimore Ravens. The Steelers recent track record against the Ravens gave fans hope they could pull off an upset win, but it was clear early that they never had a chance.
Pittsburgh has spent the offseason making moves that seem motivated by the 28-14 drubbing by their AFC North rivals, adding plenty of beef up front to help defend against a dominant Ravens run game.
Thanks to how their schedule was set up, however, they will have to wait quite some time to try and exact their revenge.
Pittsburgh Steelers will have to wait until Week 14 to face rival Baltimore Ravens
The Steelers and Ravens won't renew their rivalry until Week 14. Both teams should already have learned exactly what kind of team they are in 2025, and it will have major playoff and AFC North implications.
If all goes well for Pittsburgh, they could be fighting for position with Baltimore for the division lead. Even if they are lagging behind, a big win in Week 14 could be how they climb back into the race.
So much for both teams could be on the line, and I think that's why the NFL scheduled their two matchups so late in the season. Even though it ended up hurting them last season, seeing the Steelers have to play all six of their divisional games in the last eight weeks made every game a must-watch.
They won't have quite as hard a road in 2025, but it seems like this style of schedule could become more common moving forward. Fans may hate having to wait until December to see one of the best rivalries in football, but it will be well worth it.