NFL Gave Steelers Brutal Break With Schedule That Almost Nobody Acknowledged

The Pittsburgh Steelers play within a division that no team seems to want to win. The AFC North has been a disaster throughout the majority of the 2025 season, with injuries, inconsistent play and odd outcomes occurring almost each and every week. The top two teams in the Steelers and Baltimore Ravens continue to control their own respective destinies, but the big issue is the remaining schedules for both. Not only do the two franchises have to face off twice, but there are several organizations that sit above .500 that still need to be played. It's going to be a heck of a final stretch.

Fans remember back in the 2024 season when Pittsburgh was forced to play all six divisional games within the last eight weeks of the regular season. It was an odd part of the schedule that didn't make much sense at all. The AFC North plays with a lot of physicality, and Head Coach Mike Tomlin's group finished with three wins and just as many losses in those six contests, but also lost the two non-divisional games. It was a bad end-of-season collapse.

While the Steelers have already played in three AFC North showdowns in 2025, the NFL didn't do the team any favors once again. This time, Pittsburgh, in one of the most important stretches of the entire campaign, is losing a major advantage in several critical matchups. Team reporter Mark Kaboly pointed it out on the social media platform, X.

In Week 13, a massive AFC battle with the Buffalo Bills will take place. Josh Allen and co. haven't been what anyone expected, sitting at just 7-4, but the unit had extra days to prepare with a Thursday Night Football showing in Week 12. The Ravens just played on Thanksgiving in Week 13, which means John Harbaugh and his squad will have extra days of rest to prepare for the upcoming Steelers contest.

The Steelers were able to beat the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 11, but Zac Taylor's locker room was coming off of a Week 10 bye, giving the collective ample time to rest and recover. The only team that didn't have advanced rest to compete against Pittsburgh was the Chicago Bears, and it didn't matter as Tomlin and co. fell on the road by a score of 31-28.

This is now two years in a row that saw the Steelers get forced into a very unfavorable spot. Combine that with an early bye week due to an International game, and it makes it even worse. Every NFL franchise goes through tough periods during any given season, but Pittsburgh has had back-to-back years when its toughest challenges came at, or after, Thanksgiving.

This is the most important period of the professional season. Mini-bye weeks that occur after Thursday Night Football games are treated like a luxury as December nears. Not only do the Steelers have to play two organizations that have that, but it's the Ravens and Bills, an AFC North foe and another conference opponent that is hanging onto a playoff spot. It's not an ideal spot for Tomlin and his group to be in.

Steelers Have Absolutely No Excuses To Make During Final Stretch

The average fan will look at this scheduling quirk as unfortunate and unfair, but the individuals in the locker room will have to ignore the noise and push through. People in the Steel City are becoming restless because of how inconsistent the team has been, which will not change if losses continue to pile up. The collective has a legitimate chance to calm some doubters if it is able to defeat the Bills on Sunday.

Do you think that the Steelers are aware of how unfortunate the NFL scheduled this part of their season? Let us know in the comments below!

#SteelerNation