Steelers Have 1 Massive Potential Letdown Game Looming On Rough 2024 Schedule

The Pittsburgh Steelers will host a Monday Night Football matchup against the New York Giants in Week 8 and with a win, improve to 6-2 on the season. This would be an extremely solid mark that was essential to have given the team's brutal backend of the 2024 schedule. The franchise will enter the bye week regardless of the result, as the Baltimore Ravens suffered a divisional loss to the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, as the leader of the AFC North. After another Cincinnati Bengals loss, it seems as if that the Steelers and Ravens are going to be fighting for the division's crown once again.

There is an extremely strong possibility that both games that Pittsburgh and Baltimore play against one another will hold a significant amount of meaning when it comes to the AFC playoff picture. The Steelers are desperate for a home playoff game as the organization has been longing for another playoff win - having none since the 2016 campaign.

After the contest versus the Giants, Head Coach Mike Tomlin will look forward to a timely bye week before the rough stretch. The trade deadline will commence on November 5th and there will be plenty of excitement in the Steel City. One of the first things to look forward to after the break is a monumental Week 11 game in Pittsburgh against the Ravens. Not so fast, though.

Tomlin's teams have been known to have "letdown" games for years now. Whether that has been playing down to competition, or simply not taking a certain opponent serious enough with a big game the following week. That is exactly what could happen after the bye week. When the schedule was originally constructed, no one really believed that the Washington Commanders would be leading the NFC East entering Week 9.

The Commanders seem to be on track to completely reinvent the franchise. The dominos started to fall after Dan Snyder finally sold the team, but bringing in Dan Quinn to be the head coach and drafting Jayden Daniels to play quarterback followed, and it has absolutely paid off to this point. While the sample size is small, it's evident that Daniels has the ability to play at a high level, and also with a tad bit of luck, after a game-winning Hail Mary in Week 8.

It's not going to be an easy task to play the Commanders and Ravens in back-to-back weeks. Sure, it helps that the bye comes at an ideal time, but both offenses are going to put the Steelers' strong defense to the test. Pittsburgh will spend the bye week getting healthy and preparing for Washington; however, it's hard for players, coaches and fans not to look forward to what will be a huge game against the Ravens.

If Pittsburgh comes away with a win in Week 8 against the Giants, there will be plenty of excitement for Tomlin and co. The best case scenario was always to be 7-2 heading into the final eight games of the season, and now that is absolutely possible. Two NFC East teams are in the way, but fans in the Steel City have to be pleased with where the team is at.

Steelers Can Use Commanders Game As A Way To Prepare For Ravens

Daniels has been electrifying throughout the course of his young career to this point. Many have mentioned that he is very similar to Baltimore's franchise signal-caller, Lamar Jackson. Pittsburgh has seemed to have Jackson's number, especially the last couple of years, and going up against Daniels will be a nice refresher regarding what Jackson is capable of. The Steelers have some things to take care of before Baltimore, however, and can't look ahead too far into the future.

Do you think Pittsburgh's Week 10 matchup against the Commanders could be a letdown game? Let us know in the comments below!

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