The 2025 schedule for the Pittsburgh Steelers isn’t the easiest in the NFL. The AFC North remains one of the toughest divisions in football, and the NFC North is in the same conversation. Those matchups account for 10 games on the schedule, leaving the Steelers with little room for error this season.
Considering the Aaron Rodgers experiment has been noted as a one-and-done effort, Pittsburgh’s window to reclaim postseason relevance is even more limited than fans had hoped. Still, postseason trips are predicated on winning streaks, which might be hard to come by for Pittsburgh this season.
Where is the Pittsburgh Steelers' Best Chance to Stack Wins in the 2025 Schedule?
The Steelers are rather notorious under head coach Mike Tomlin for not starting fast. But the 2025 team has no choice but to start fast this season, as it’s the only portion of the season where the opposition is seemingly vulnerable.
The Steelers start up with a road trip to New York to face Rodgers’ past employer. Then D.K. Metcalf gets his revenge game against the Seahawks in Pittsburgh. A road trip out to New England to face the rebuilding Patriots awaits in Week 3. Then the Steelers head to Dublin to face the Minnesota Vikings, who will effectively still be breaking in a rookie quarterback.
That’s the easiest stretch of four games the Steelers face all season, and it’s not particularly close. The next five games feature winnable matchups, but divisional games against Cleveland and Cincinnati are far from guarantees, while Green Bay and the Los Angeles Chargers are much more difficult draws than anything Pittsburgh faces in the first four weeks.
From there, every three-game stretch is interrupted by the Ravens, the Bills, or the Lions - all Super Bowl contenders.
The Steelers aren’t exactly Super Bowl contenders themselves, though with Rodgers under center, they should expect to be more competitive against such teams, especially compared to last season. Still, to build momentum into those tougher matchups after a Week 5 BYE, the Steelers need to start 4-0 during the easiest stretch of the season.
A Familiar Pattern Pittsburgh Must Finally Break
Still, over the past five seasons, only twice have the Steelers started above .500 through the first four weeks - last year and 2020. Both of those seasons featured late-season collapses that Tomlin can’t afford to repeat.
Pittsburgh has to take advantage of its early-season opportunities to face young and new quarterbacks in new locations and get off to a hot start. From there, the same challenges exist that did in 2024 and 2020, where the team can’t afford to lose steam, even when the losses begin to stack against stronger competition.