Home-field advantage is a common discussion when it comes to NFL teams. Coaches and players love to talk about how the fans spur them on and want to make their home turf as hard as possible for other teams to come into and win. We also all know that Pittsburgh Steelers fans travel incredibly well.
So how does Pittsburgh shake out in terms of having a home-field advantage? The 33rd Team’s Barry Wilner took a look at every NFL team’s home record over the last decade to see what teams were successful at home and whether that translates to success.
Since 2013, the Steelers have posted a 56-24-1 record at home, a .698 winning percentage. It’s actually the fourth-best record in the league during that time span, only behind the Kansas City Chiefs and the New England Patriots (both at .753) and the Green Bay Packers (.741.) The Minnesota Vikings rounded out the top five, just behind Pittsburgh with a .679 winning percentage.
The Steelers have been one of the best teams at home in the last decade, but they went 4-4 in Pittsburgh last season. All four of their home losses were one-score games with two of those losses coming against divisional teams that made the playoffs (37-30 against the Cincinnati Bengals and 16-14 against the Baltimore Ravens.)
So what does that mean for the 2023 season? Pittsburgh will face four teams that made the playoffs in 2022 at home this season. They open the season against last season’s NFC West champions and the second seed in the NFC, the San Francisco 49ers. The Jacksonville Jaguars were the AFC South champions in 2022 and were the fourth seed in the AFC. Then there are the Ravens and the Bengals as well.
While all that certainly can cause some concern for Pittsburgh’s home record, there are definitely some promising signs for avoiding a sub-500 record at home in 2023. The 49ers’ starting quarterback Brock Purdy is recovering from a serious elbow injury, and while he is currently on track to start Week One, how rusty he will be remains to be seen.
Pittsburgh’s other home opponents are the Cleveland Browns, the Tennessee Titans, the Green Bay Packers, the Arizona Cardinals, and the New England Patriots. The Browns are still the Browns, and it should be a fun game as it is a Monday night matchup. Tennessee is still trying to figure out its quarterback situation with Ryan Tannehill, 2022 third-round pick Malik Willis, and 2023 second-round pick Will Levis.
The Packers have officially turned the quarterback position over to Jordan Love, who has thrown a grand total of 83 passes since entering the league in 2021. The Cardinals released their best wide receiver in DeAndre Hopkins and could very well be in the hunt for the first overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft. The Patriots are still starting Mac Jones at quarterback and have underwhelmed since Tom Brady left.
There is a fair amount of uncertainty among a number of Pittsburgh’s guests in 2023 while the Steelers are looking to build on quarterback Kenny Pickett’s experience over the final stretch of 2022. With premier pass rusher T.J. Watt healthy plus the additions in the defensive backfield, Pittsburgh’s defense should be stout as well.
The Steelers should be primed to take advantage of the instability of a number of teams visiting Pittsburgh this season and continue to be one of the top five NFL teams at home.
