There’s nothing better than AFC North football. The most competitive division in football, the only group that saw all four teams finish above .500 last season. But for those who enjoy the show, you’ll have to wait. The Pittsburgh Steelers won’t play their first divisional game until November 17, a Week 11 home game against the Baltimore Ravens. Six of the team’s final eight regular season games are against the North, critical matchups likely to determine the fate of the Steelers’ season.
Commenting on the schedule following the official release Wednesday night, Team President Art Rooney II admitted it’s a quirky layout.
“They are bunched together,” Rooney told Steelers.com’s Missi Matthews. “So that’s gonna be quite a stretch. And probably be a meaningful stretch of games for sure. It’s kind of unusual. I’m not sure I remember having one like this where we don’t play any division games until that late in the season. So something different.”
Rooney’s assertion is correct. According to our research, waiting until Week 11 to play a divisional game is the furthest Pittsburgh’s had to go into a season in team history. The previous record came in 1991 when the AFC Central Steelers didn’t play one of their foes until the Cleveland Browns in Week 9.
Pittsburgh’s AFC North stretch includes four straight games against the division. After playing the Ravens in Week 11, they’ll travel to Cleveland days later for Thursday night football, head back to Ohio and take on Cincinnati in Week 13, and finish things up with a rematch against the Browns in Week 14.
As Dave Bryan pointed out earlier, this rare instance isn’t without precedent. In 2021, Washington played four straight games against the NFC East. They went 1-3 over that stretch, only beating the hapless New York Giants and finishing the year 7-10.
Dave also noted the Chicago Bears are in the same circumstance as the Steelers this year, playing all six of their NFC North games over the final eight weeks.
The good news is Pittsburgh’s been excellent against the AFC North. As Warren Sharp pointed out earlier this week, the Steelers have won two-thirds of their divisional games since 2020. The Browns, Bengals, and Ravens are no better than .500.
It’s a stretch that will determine the Steelers’ season. And probably the fate of the other three in what’s expected to be another photo finish.
