Much has been made about the difficulty of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ schedule in the 2024 season.
The Steelers have one of the toughest schedules in football. The stretch after the Week 9 bye week is brutal as the Steelers will have to play all six AFC North matchups, a Christmas Day matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs, and a road trip to Philadelphia to take on the Eagles.
For some, that difficult schedule could be the reason the Steelers might fall flat this season. They could potentially finish last in the AFC North and have the first losing season in Mike Tomlin’s tenure as head coach.
New Steelers’ QB Russell Wilson doesn’t see it that way, though.
Appearing on NFL Network’s Training Camp Live with hosts Rhett Lewis and Marc Ross, Wilson said that while the schedule is difficult, teams have to play the Steelers, too.
“…We’ve got no fear. We’re excited about the opportunity of it,” Wilson said regarding the season ahead and the difficulty of the schedule, according to video via NFL Network. “It’s gonna be a challenge. A great division, a lot of great teams. Tough schedule, but people gotta play us, too.
“And so, we gotta make sure that we set the tone every week.”
Yes, the schedule is difficult, and the final stretch of the season might be one of the most difficult ones ever put together in the NFL, at least in the last 25 years or so. The fact that every AFC North matchup is after the bye week and also coincides with HBO’s in-season “Hard Knocks” feels awfully intentional from the league, too.
But the schedule is the schedule. The Steelers won’t blink at it, nor will they care how difficult it appears to be. They have to play the teams in front of them, and like Wilson said, those teams have to play the Steelers, too.
That’s the perfect message for the starting quarterback to publicly promote. Yes, it’s difficult on paper, and yes, the schedule has many doubting the Steelers this season. But Pittsburgh wants to be a physical, punishing team on both sides of the football this season, so they’ll need to set the tone weekly to accomplish that.
Doing so should help the Steelers navigate that tough schedule, especially late in the year. Be the hunter, not the hunted. Attack, don’t counter. It’ll be a tough one just from the looks of it on paper, but as Wilson said, they have to play the Steelers, too.
Roll the ball out there and see what happens.
