The Pittsburgh Steelers have had a pretty successful season so far as they sit on top of the AFC North at 8-3 and third in the AFC playoff standings. Coming off a heartbreaking loss to the Cleveland Browns, the Steelers are looking to bounce back against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 13. New additions on offense this year, like Russell Wilson and Justin Fields, have helped the team score more points and open up the playbook for Offensive Coordinator Arthur Smith. The second half of the season is bringing something different for the team as they'll be featured in HBO's in-season Hard Knocks.
Steelers.com
The Steelers, Ravens, Bengals, and Browns will be on an in-season edition of Hard Knocks in 2024.
During this past June, the Steelers announced they were one of the teams that were going to be a part of the in-season Hard Knocks this year on Max, HBO's streaming service. However, this year is different as before Hard Knocks would follow and highlight just one team, but now the show is following each team in the AFC North. This season is titled Hard Knocks: In Season with the AFC North. The Baltimore Ravens, Browns, and Bengals will also have cameras filming each practice and game to showcase a behind the scenes look of each of their seasons. All three other teams have been featured in the show, but this will be Pittsburgh's debut.
Filming for the show began in early November, according to ESPN Steelers writer Brooke Pryor. Head Coach Mike Tomlin was asked during his weekly press conference about how filming has been and if it's been a distraction for the players.
“To me, it’s something to conquer, to be quite honest with you," Tomlin said. "We have to deal with it better than the other three teams. That’s how I view a lot of things that come across my plate. Particularly when others have to deal with it."
Tomlin knows that all the other AFC North teams are dealing with the filming, the Steelers just have to handle it better than the rest. This season of Hard Knocks will be interesting, especially for Steelers fans, as the second half of their schedule consists of all six matchups versus the AFC North. Usually, Pittsburgh's AFC North matchups are spread throughout the season, but six out of their eight games after the bye week was AFC North teams. The Steelers are currently on a four-game stint of AFC North games and they are 1-1 so far, with a road game against the Bengals and a home rematch against the Browns coming up.
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Steelers' Mike Tomlin looks on during a snowy game in Cleveland.
With Hard Knocks debuting December 2, it'll be interesting to see the behind the scenes from each of the four teams. A lot of storylines have happened with all the AFC North teams and fans will get an inside look, something that usually doesn't happen. Tomlin reiterated that their agenda remains the same each week, but he's pushing to handle the cameras the best.
"I’m less concerned about the inconvenience of it and more concerned about are we positioning ourselves to perform under those conditions better than those that we compete against," Tomlin said. "It’s something that everyone in the AFC North has to deal with, so it’s our agenda to do so better than the other three teams.”
When Hard Knocks was announced, some players like Cam Heyward didn't like the decision to include the Steelers in the show. He openly stated a camera crew for a show didn't need to be in the locker room and that they may have to tone some stuff said in the locker room because viewers would take it the wrong way. The Steelers organization is known to be old school, so it'll be an interesting watch to see how the Steelers players and Tomlin act in the show, even with Tomlin assuring that it hasn't been a problem.
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Steelers' Patrick Queen surveys the offense while playing the Baltimore Ravens in 2024.
Steelers Have Many Great Storylines For Hard Knocks
On top of adding Fields and Wilson to the team, there are a lot more storylines that Steeler Nation and NFL fans will be intrigued by. One of the main storylines fan can look forward to is seeing Patrick Queen go against his former team the Ravens. The Steelers played their first matchup against the Ravens at home in Week 11, winning 18-16. Queen had a tremendous game, having 10 total tackles and also recovering a fumble that he forced. The Steelers will travel to Baltimore in Week 16 for their next matchup.
A surprising trade that happened just before filming took place for Hard Knocks was former Steelers wide receiving Diontae Johnson getting traded from the Carolina Panthers to the Ravens. It was an interesting move, but so far Johnson hasn't done much for the Ravens and only got targeted twice with zero catches against the Steelers in Week 11.
Are you excited to see Hard Knocks? Let us know in the comments below!
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