Steelers' upcoming three-game stretch is an NFL scheduling catastrophe

After suffering a gut-wrenching loss in Cleveland in Week 12, there's no chance the Pittsburgh Steelers are going to take the Browns lightly on Sunday. Right now, their sole focus is to advance to 10-3 while driving the final nail into the coffin of Cleveland's 2024 season. But when we look beyond this week, we see the biggest test of the season for Pittsburgh.

Once Week 14 wraps up, the Steelers will instantly turn around and prepare for the most daunting three-game stretch of the year: facing the Philadelphia Eagles on the road, the Baltimore Ravens on the road, and the Kansas City Chiefs at home on Christmas Day.

Coming away with victories against some of the NFL's best teams will be hard enough, but the conditions will make matters a whole lot worse.

The Steelers aren't just facing formidable opponents late in the season; they are doing so with limited preparation and recovery time.

Beginning with the Eagles on December 15, the Steelers will be in Philadelphia against a top-flight NFC team before having just six days to turn around and face the Ravens on the road After facing the Ravens in Baltimore on December 21, Pittsburgh will host the Chiefs just four days later on Christmas Day.

Steelers will make or break Super Bowl chances from Week 14-17

This is an inexcusably poor scheduling job by the NFL, as no team should be asked to play three regular-season games in 11 games — especially with the playoffs just around the corner. Unfortunately, a lot is riding on this crowded three-game stretch, as it could make or break Pittsburgh's Super Bowl chances.

Let's assume the Steelers prevail against the Browns but go 1-2 or even 0-3 during this daunting stretch from Week 14 to Week 17. This could result in one of several discouraging outcomes. The Steelers could slide to the fourth seed in the AFC — likely meaning they will host a hot LA Chargers team in the Wild Card round.

Pittsburgh could also surrender the AFC North lead to the Ravens, which means the Steelers would lose their home-field advantage. Instead of hosting Baltimore in the Wild Card round, they could be playing in at Baltimore, at Buffalo, or at Kansas City (depending on how the rest of the AFC performs during this stretch.

As great of a position as the Steelers have been in all year, it could all go away in this 11-day stretch in December. Though Pittsburgh has won the Super Bowl as a Wild Card team in the past, being forced to play every game on the road in the playoffs is not the route they want to take.

Mike Tomlin will do everything in his power for the Steelers to bring home their seventh Lombardi Trophy, but a poor three-game stretch could pulverize their Super Bowl chances. Let's hope they can weather the storm through this NFL scheduling fiasco late in December.