Steelers Have One of NFL’s Easiest Schedules

The Steelers will start the NFL season a week from Sunday when they face the San Francisco 49ers. While that is a challenging start to the 2023 season, Pittsburgh’s schedule is relatively mild compared to the rest of the league. According to Sharp Football Analysis, Pittsburgh will boast the seventh-easiest schedule in the NFL in 2023. Using the projected win totals from the Vegas oddsmakers, Pittsburgh comes into the fray.

In front, the Steelers include the Chicago Bears, Carolina Panthers, San Francisco 49ers, Indianapolis Colts, New Orleans Saints, and Atlanta Falcons. On the opposite side of the spectrum, the Ravens, Browns, and Bengals all rank near the middle of the pack and have league-average schedules.

Last season, the Steelers were in an odd situation with their schedule. The team faced the second-toughest schedule based on the opponent’s actual winning percentage but traveled the least amount of miles, never having to leave the Eastern Time Zone. The Steelers’ opponents held a winning percentage of 0.519 (148-137-1). Despite this, the Steelers finished with a record of 9-8 while narrowly missing the playoffs.

For reference, this is the full Steelers schedule for the 2023 season:

FULL STEELERS 2023 SCHEDULE

Week 1: Sunday, Sept. 10, 1:00 p,m. vs. San Francisco 49ers, FOX
Week 2: Monday, Sept. 18, 8:30 p.m. vs. Cleveland Browns, ESPN
Week 3: Sunday Sept. 24, 8:30 p.m. at Las Vegas Raiders, NBC
Week 4: Sunday, Oct. 1, 1:00 p.m. at Houston Texans, CBS
Week 5: Sunday, Oct. 8, 1:00 p.m. vs. Baltimore Ravens, CBS
Week 6: BYE
Week 7: Sunday, Oct. 22, 4:05 p.m. at Los Angeles Rams, FOX
Week 8: Sunday, Oct. 29, 1:00 p.m. vs Jacksonville Jaguars, CBS
Week 9: Thursday, Nov. 2, 8:30 p.m. vs. Tennessee Titans, Amazon Prime
Week 10: Sunday Nov. 12, 1:00 p.m. vs. Green Bay Packers, CBS
Week 11: Sunday, Nov. 19, 1:00 p.m. at Cleveland Browns, CBS
Week 12: Sunday Nov. 26, 1:00 p.m. at Cincinnati Bengals, CBS
Week 13: Sunday, Dec. 3, 1:00 p.m. vs. Arizona Cardinals, CBS
Week 14: Thursday, Dec. 7, 8:30 p.m. vs. New England Patriots, Amazon Prime
Week 15: Sunday, Dec. 17, TBD at Indianapolis Colts, TBD
Week 16: Saturday, Dec. 23, 4:30 p.m. vs Cincinnati Bengals, NBC
Week 17: Sunday, Dec. 31, 4:05 p.m. at Seattle Seahawks, FOX
Week 18: Sunday, Jan. 7, TBD at Baltimore Ravens, TBD

That schedule, on paper, does not appear to be some gauntlet, but it has some young ascending teams such as the Texans on it that Vegas will push down naturally. None of these factors in injuries yet so it could get much easier or more complex throughout the 2023 season. But for now, Pittsburgh seems set with a slightly lighter schedule.