Whereas NFL fans typically dissect their favorite team’s schedule with a fine-tooth comb when it’s released, broadcasters do the same, but with their network’s schedule.
Going into the season, there’s always some uncertainty over how a schedule can play out. Last year, for instance, Fox was dealt an unfortunate amount of blowouts thanks to its Dallas Cowboys-heavy schedule taking a hit after Dak Prescott’s season-ending injury. At the same time, CBS enjoyed a Kansas City Chiefs-heavy schedule and benefited from the team’s propensity to play in close games.
In other words, predicting how a network’s schedule is going to play out before the season starts is a complete crap shoot. Add in that the NFL can flex games and the league’s Sunday afternoon partners can switch up their featured games based on which teams actually turn out to be good, and forecasting what an NFL broadcast schedule looks like mid-season becomes a pretty fruitless endeavor.
That didn’t stop CBS Sports’ lead NFL voice, Jim Nantz, from weighing in on what, in his estimation, CBS needs to do to replicate its success from last season. For Nantz, it boils down to one team: the Pittsburgh Steelers.
CBS could air as many as six Steelers games in the final seven weeks of the season, according to Nantz. With that kind of exposure, the network is certainly banking on one Aaron Rodgers having a bit of a career resurgence in the black and gold.
Jim Nantz believes the Pittsburgh Steelers are going to have a big season with Aaron Rodgers behind center.
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“Just looking at our schedule, which is loaded, but it’s very Pittsburgh back-heavy at the end of the year. That’s important to us,” Nantz said. “Can the Aaron Rodgers signing — and I think it’s gonna work out. I think Aaron, I know this is like, the momentum, I’m going against the popular viewpoint of what happened with the Jets. It was better than people gave him credit for, by a lot.
“There’s a chance at the end of the year, if they’re good, because we can always switch out of it, the way the schedule was handed out to us, we could have the Steelers, come late November, six out of seven weeks. That includes games against Chicago…we have a game against Detroit, national doubleheader game, got a Pittsburgh-Baltimore game…we could see Pittsburgh a lot if they’re good. So that’s the biggest question I have. Is it going to work? As we’re sitting here today, I believe it’s going to work.”
Generally speaking, the Steelers are a pretty safe bet to be relevant late in the year, so it makes sense for the schedule makers to want to feature them heavily when the postseason chase is on. Whether the team will be playing an exciting and entertaining brand of football is a different question entirely.
In recent years, the Steelers have tended to play low-scoring, grind-it-out type of games. When the team’s ball-control strategy doesn’t work, games can often get out of hand quickly and result in blowouts, which, for television networks, means lower ratings.
Nantz and CBS would certainly benefit from a resurgent Pittsburgh Steelers team behind a star quarterback like Rodgers. But luckily, the network will have the flexibility to highlight other games if the team falls off the rails late in the season.