You’ve probably noticed by now that the Pittsburgh Steelers wrap up their 2024 schedule with a gauntlet of divisional games. More specifically, the Steelers play all of their divisional games during the final eight weeks of the season. That’s an insanely condensed period during which to conduct your most vital business.
It’s also a blessing for the Steelers from the NFL, and I’m not alone in that opinion. Because this Steelers team is going to need some time to figure out who it is. The offense is going to spend time in an incubation phase in the early portions of the season, so it’s better to wait before you have to play your divisional opponents under those circumstances.
Consider this: the Steelers have a new offensive coordinator who, for the first time in over a decade, is new to the organization. Their previous coordinator hires since parting with Todd Haley have been internal promotions. Arthur Smith will need time to establish his system.
Then you have an entirely new quarterback room headlined by Russell Wilson, and likely two new offensive linemen. You may have a third lineman in a different spot than last year on top of that. And you no longer have Diontae Johnson at wide receiver, so you have to adjust to that significant change, too.
The only rooms that are stable are the running back and tight end rooms, give or take. By and large, the Steelers anticipate that the changes from last year are upgrades. Perhaps the only exception is the absence of Johnson, but we’ll see what that room looks like in September.
Another factor to consider is attrition. The Steelers’ divisional opponents have historically struggled to keep their quarterbacks healthy through the second half of the season. Lamar Jackson ended the 2021 and 2022 seasons injured, while Joe Burrow did in 2020 and 2023. Deshaun Watson missed most of the 2023 season as well. Russell Wilson may not be the player he once was, but he’s durable.
Outside of these factors, I don’t see a lot of downside. You have to play these games, anyway, and I don’t mind playing them in a clump. I don’t think the organization makes them less winnable, and the continued evolution of the league’s rules make the physicality of divisional games less of a factor.
Bottom line, I would rather play my divisional opponents when my offense is up to speed, all things being equal. From that point of view, the NFL did the Steelers a favor by structuring their schedule in such a way that caters to that.
There are downsides, of course—you might generally prefer tough games spread out, for example. Likewise, the Steelers could be just as susceptible to attrition as their opponents. But those are factors we can’t predict in advance, anyway. At least with the AFC North’s quarterback injuries, there is some semblance of a pattern. And that’s not the biggest selling point.
Yes, the end of the season could well be brutal. But it might be even more brutal to have to play four divisional games before the Steelers’ offense is organized. Chances are they are going to experience some growing pains in the early portions of the season. And they have some winnable games in the earlier portions of the year that better suits that instability.
