While the Pittsburgh Steelers are deemed to have one of the toughest schedules in 2021, at least they won’t spend much time traveling to their eight road games this season.
According to information posted on Friday by the NFL, the Steelers will travel 9,776 miles in 2021 and that’s the second fewest in the league behind only the Cincinnati Bengals.
Not surprisingly, the four AFC North teams are all in the top five of fewest miles traveled in 2021 as they play very similar schedules. Last season, the Steelers logged just 6,600 air miles in and only the Baltimore Ravens logged less.
While the Steelers will open their 2021 season on the road against the Buffalo Bills, four of the team’s first six games will be played at home at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh. The Steelers bye week in 2021 is Week 7 and after that the team will play six of their remaining games on the road and with two of their final three contests being played in other NFL cities.
It is worth noting that the Steelers will play nine games at home in 2021 and just eight on the road as part of the NFL’s newly approved 17-game schedule. Next season the Steelers will play nine games on the road and just eight at home.
Based on the final standings from 2020, the Steelers will go into 2021 with a strength of schedule of .574, which not only gives them the most difficult schedule for the upcoming season based on that, but it makes them one of only two teams in the NFL, along with the Ravens, that will have a strength of schedule above .550.
