On paper, the Pittsburgh Steelers have a tougher end to the 2025 schedule than the start. But for one local analyst, it looks like a cakewalk compared to 2024’s gauntlet. Reacting to the Steelers’ schedule, Jay Caufield thinks they have a better chance for a stronger finish this time around.
“The one thing about their schedule, they don’t have to go through the gauntlet like they did at the end of last year the way they did,” Caufield said on the latest episode of his show co-hosted by Steelers play-by-play man Rob King.
In December and January, Pittsburgh will see several playoff teams. Two matchups against the Baltimore Ravens, including the season finale, and at the Detroit Lions in Week 16. The Steelers won’t be the favorite in any of those games; in fact, they’re only favored in six of their 17 games across the entire schedule. Still, Caufield pointed to having more favorable matchups along the way.
“Two of the last four are Miami and Cleveland. What is Cleveland going to be about?” he said.
Last year, Pittsburgh had no “breaks” in the schedule. Over their final four games, the Steelers faced the Philadelphia Eagles, Baltimore Ravens, Kansas City Chiefs, and Cincinnati Bengals. They lost all four in largely uncompetitive fashion, dropping their fifth and final game in the Wild Card round to the Ravens and extending the team’s postseason victory drought another year.
Though Pittsburgh has to face tough teams to close out 2025, Caufield made the point that the time frame isn’t as worrisome.
“The number of games they had to play in a short amount of time,” he said, referring to last year’s schedule.
Pittsburgh’s 2024 schedule was unusual in lots of ways. Not facing a divisional opponent until Week 11. And playing three games in 11 days, facing the Eagles, Ravens, and Chiefs in succession. Several teams each year experience those quick turnarounds but few do so against the NFL’s top clubs. The Steelers had little practice time to correct their errors or get healthy and looked overmatched down the stretch.
It’s a fair and valid distinction from Caufield. In 2025, Pittsburgh has eight days from playing Baltimore to Miami, six to face Detroit, seven to face Cleveland, and six or seven days to face the Ravens again in the finale (the game is flexed with the date currently TBD).
In Mike Tomlin’s early years, Pittsburgh was among the NFL’s best teams down the stretch. They’ve lost that luster in recent years. Since 2017, the Steelers are barely above .500 in Weeks 15-18, posting a 15-13 record. Compare that to 2007-2016 when Pittsburgh went 22-8, a .733 winning percentage.
The old saying is it isn’t how you start but how you finish. An adage that proved true last year and story the Steelers can’t repeat in 2025 no matter how the schedule unfolded.
