As the NFL schedules are released on Wednesday, it is fair to note that the Pittsburgh Steelers and 31 other teams already know who they will play; it’s more about the order in which they will play those teams.
The Steelers finished second in the AFC North in 2024, meaning they will play a second-place schedule in the 2025 season.
That gave them the draw of the Seattle Seahawks, Indianapolis Colts, and Los Angeles Chargers for the open holes on their schedule as unique opponents compared to the rest of the AFC North.
This schedule will include nine home games and eight away games, though one of those home games is in Ireland against the Minnesota Vikings. So, the full slate looks like this:
Home opponents: Baltimore, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Seattle, Indianapolis, Minnesota, Green Bay, Miami, Buffalo
Away opponents: Baltimore, Cincinnati, Cleveland, New York Jets, New England, Los Angeles Chargers, Chicago, Detroit
The Steelers will travel 15,062 miles this season. Of that mileage, over a fifth is from Pittsburgh to Dublin, which is over 3000 miles away. The other heavy hitter for the Steelers is their trip to Los Angeles, over 2400 miles away.
The Steelers are predicted to have an easier schedule than 2024 as well.
According to an analysis done by Warren Sharp, the Steelers will have the ninth-hardest schedule in the league, but that is much easier than last year’s, where they were projected to have the toughest schedule in the NFL.
Sharp’s forecasts use Vegas’ projected win totals and other advanced metrics to try and predict the hardest schedules in the NFL. Last year, the Steelers were far and away the toughest schedule, and that held, with a brutal run to end the season.