Pittsburgh Steelers 2021 Schedule Breakdown

After an 11-0 start, the Steelers fumbled down the stretch and finished 2020 with a 12-4 record. While that was still good enough to win the AFC North for the third time in five seasons, it resulted in them playing and losing to the Browns in Wild Card weekend.

Now, as Pittsburgh looks ahead to their 17-game season, they will try to win another division title and perhaps a playoff game or two. However, they will have the Browns and Ravens chasing them down, with the Bengals hungry for upsets, in what looks to be a tough 2021 campaign.

Steelers Schedule

(All times EST)

Week 1: Sep. 12 at Buffalo Bills - 1:00 p.m. (CBS)
Week 2: Sep. 19 vs. Las Vegas Raiders - 1:00 p.m. (CBS)
Week 3: Sep. 26 vs. Cincinnati Bengals - 1:00 p.m. (CBS)
Week 4: Oct. 3 at Green Bay Packers - 4:25 p.m. (CBS)
Week 5: Oct. 10 vs. Denver Broncos - 1:00 p.m. (FOX)
Week 6: Oct. 17 vs. Seattle Seahawks (SNF) - 8:20 p.m. (NBC)
Week 7: BYE
Week 8: Oct. 31 at Cleveland Browns - 1:00 p.m. (CBS)
Week 9: Nov. 8 vs. Chicago Bears (MNF) - 8:15 p.m. (ESPN)
Week 10: Nov. 14 vs. Detroit Lions - 1:00 p.m. (FOX)
Week 11: Nov. 21 at Los Angeles Chargers (SNF) - 8:20 p.m. (NBC)
Week 12: Nov. 28 at Cincinnati Bengals - 1:00 p.m. (CBS)
Week 13: Dec. 5 vs. Baltimore Ravens - 4:25 p.m. (CBS)
Week 14: Dec. 9 at Minnesota Vikings (TNF) - 8:20 p.m. (NFL Network/Amazon)
Week 15: Dec. 19 vs. Tennessee Titans - 1:00 p.m. (CBS)
Week 16: Dec. 26 at Kansas City Chiefs - 4:25 p.m. (CBS)
Week 17: Jan. 3 vs. Cleveland Browns (MNF) - 8:15 p.m. (ESPN)
Week 18: Jan. 9 at Baltimore Ravens - 1:00 p.m. (CBS)

Key Games

Week 1 at Buffalo - The Steelers will face a test right away when they go on the road to face the defending AFC East champion Bills. Buffalo has gotten the better of Pittsburgh in each of their last two meetings, the last of which in December of last year when the Bills won 26-15.

Week 4 at Green Bay - An old Super Bowl rematch is a game to watch early on, as the Steelers will hit the road after back-to-back home games to face the Packers. Including Super Bowl 45 in 2011, it’s just the fourth time the Steelers have gone up against Green Bay in the Aaron Rodgers era, the last of which was back in 2017.

Week 8 at Cleveland - Coming out of a bye week and sandwiched between a pair of primetime games, the Steelers will aim for revenge against the Browns, the team that eliminated them from the postseason last season. While their late-season meeting may have more immediate postseason implications, this tough road game can set up momentum for Pittsburgh, who follows this up with four games in a row against opponents who finished last year at .500 or worse.

Week 16 at Kansas City - A potential AFC Championship, this road game at a rowdy Arrowhead Stadium will likely be the toughest overall game on Pittsburgh’s loaded schedule. The game will also be just the second time the Steelers have faced Patrick Mahomes, their one time being a 42-37 loss in September of 2018, Mahomes’ third career start.

Week 18 at Baltimore - Capping off a brutal six-week stretch to close the year, the Steelers head to Baltimore for their second and final game against the Ravens. Like the previous week against the Browns, this is a game that has massive postseason implications assuming the AFC North race is as tight as it’s expected to be.

Other Notes

Strength of schedule - One look at Pittsburgh’s schedule will prove that this schedule will be difficult. In fact, based off of their opponents’ 2020 win percentage of .574, no team has a schedule harder than the Steelers in 2021. However, the entire AFC North is in the top-10 of most difficult schedules.

Primetime games - As expected, the Steelers will have a fair share of exposure on the national scale. They have two Sunday night games, two Monday night, and the obligatory Thursday night game, with four of those five coming in Week 8 or later after their bye in Week 7.

The calm before the storm - Pittsburgh’s “easiest” stretch comes in Weeks 9-12, where all but one of those teams managed to reach a .500 record. However, that leads into the final six weeks of the season, where among the five teams they’ll be going up against, only the Vikings failed to reach the playoffs last year.