The Pittsburgh Steelers now know when they’ll play each team on their 2026 schedule, and with the schedule laid out, there are some favorable opportunities for the Steelers. Of course, with that comes some stretches that may prove to be challenging. CBS Sports’ John Breech outlined the good and the bad of the Steelers’ schedule.
Breech highlighted travel as the good part of Pittsburgh’s schedule. They only play outside of the eastern timezone in Paris and in Week 17 in Nashville against the Tennessee Titans.
“The Steelers have one of the most manageable travel schedules in the NFL this year.”
The bad part, which should come as no surprise, is Pittsburgh’s brutal stretch from Week 11 to Week 14 when they play the Philadelphia Eagles, Denver Broncos, Houston Texans and Jacksonville Jaguars. You could also add Week 10, when the Steelers play the Cincinnati Bengals, to make for a rough five games coming off their bye. It’s going to be a stretch that’s likely key to the Steelers making the playoffs.
If they can survive playing a division rival and four 2025 playoff teams in a row, the Steelers should find themselves back in the postseason. But an 0-5 or 1-4 performance could put their playoff hopes in limbo.
The Steelers do only see one playoff team before their bye week, and they should have the opportunity to get off to a hot start. That could help when it comes to the brutal five-game stretch to give the Steelers a little bit of leeway if they do stumble, but they’re still going to have to take care of business late in the season, as well. The four-game stretch that Breech points to is sandwiched by divisional games, with the aforementioned Bengals game in Week 10 and a matchup against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 15.
The Steelers can’t fade late in the season. Outside of a bad loss to the Cleveland Browns in Week 17 last season, they played well from Weeks 14-16 to win three games in a row. The Steelers may need something similar this season against some tough opponents to keep their season alive into January.