The Pittsburgh Steelers know exactly when they will be facing each opponent on their 2025 regular season schedule, and while Mike Tomlin might not admit it, this team needs to come out of the corner swinging. According to Warren Sharp, the Steelers have the hardest schedule in the NFL, based on the difficulty of opponents, from Week 7 on.
Sharp also notes that Pittsburgh will have the second-hardest schedule based on rest and preparation time. The Steelers either have a rest or scheduling disadvantage in five of their six toughest games.
When you look at the opponent list from Week 7 on, it's not hard to see why the Steelers need to have such a hot start in 2025. Beginning in Week 7, Pittsburgh will play at Cincinnati (Thursday Night Football), vs. Green Bay (Sunday Night Football), vs. Indianapolis, at Los Angeles (Sunday Night Football vs. Chargers), vs. Cincinnati, and at Chicago.
Then, in Week 13 through the remainder of the season, the Steelers will have games vs. Buffalo, at Baltimore, vs. Miami (Monday Night Football), at Detroit, at Cleveland, and vs. Baltimore to close out the season.
The Steelers are favored in just three of their 12 games to close out the season.
The Pittsburgh Steelers must have a hot start to the 2025 season to give themselves a shot at the playoffs
In 2024, we watched the Pittsburgh Steelers crumble against good competition late in the season. Russell Wilson and company couldn't get anything going as the Steelers were humiliated in a five-game losing streak to close the year (including the playoff loss against the Ravens).
Now this offense is without Justin Fields, Russell Wilson, and George Pickens. Likewise, Cameron Heyward and T.J. Watt are a year older, and it's hard to expect this team to be better than it was a season ago, especially with an uncertain quarterback situation.
Even if Aaron Rodgers joins the club, the Steelers are still expected to be underdogs in most of their contests down the stretch. The only way they can give themselves a shot late in the year is by squashing the competition early.
Fortunately, there's an avenue for Pittsburgh to have a fast start.
The Steelers open the season on the road against the New York Jets— a team with an over/under win total of 5.5 this season. From there, Pittsburgh will host the Seattle Seahawks, who will be traveling from the West Coast for a 1:00 p.m. ET kickoff in Week 2.
This will be followed by a road game against the Patriots, a game against the Vikings in Dublin, Ireland, and a home game against the Browns after an early Week 5 bye.
That's when the gauntlet begins. From Week 7 on, the Steelers won't have a break as they face the toughest stretch of schedule in the NFL. Regardless of who's under center in Week 1, this team needs to explode out of the gate if they want to have a competitive season in 2025.