We’re not talking enough about how the Steelers can go 16-0

The Pittsburgh Steelers have the pathway to go 16-0 this regular season.

Though they are the team able to go undefeated this year, the Pittsburgh Steelers just might.

At 9-0 through the first 10 weeks of the 2020 NFL season, the Steelers are the only team in the league that have a shot at going undefeated. Though the members of the 1972 Miami Dolphins think their distinction of having the only perfect season in modern NFL history is in the bag, there is a very strong possibility the Steelers have what it takes to at least come out of 2020 at 16-0.

All remaining regular-season games are certainly winnable for Pittsburgh

Steelers’ remaining 2020 NFL season schedule

• Nov. 22: at Jacksonville Jaguars
• Nov. 26: vs. Baltimore Ravens
• Dec. 6: vs. Washington Football Team
• Dec. 13: at Buffalo Bills
• Dec. 21: at Cincinnati Bengals
• Dec. 27: vs. Indianapolis Colts
• Jan. 3: at Cleveland Browns

There are a few things working in the Steelers’ favor to pull this off. The first is they do not have to play the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs this season. Another is they have one more game against a bad NFC East opponent in the Washington Football Team on Dec. 6. The last is Pittsburgh’s tendency to play to the level of their opponent under head coach Mike Tomlin.

Simply put, the Steelers have enough quality opponents on their remaining schedule for them not to truly mail it in for a game. However, there are three potential games where the Steelers could totally mail it in, including Sunday’s road game vs. the Jacksonville Jaguars. Though a loss to the Jaguars would be unexpected, this is an opponent that has historically played Pittsburgh tough.

Odds are the Steelers will use the Jacksonville game as a bit of a tune-up for their toughest remaining game on the schedule: Home vs. the arch rival Baltimore Ravens on Thursday Night Football in Week 12. It will be the final game of three on Thanksgiving with AFC North supremacy on the line. With it being at Heinz Field, Pittsburgh should be a sizable favorite in the rivalry game.

After that, possible slip-ups could occur at the Buffalo Bills on Dec. 13, vs. the Indianapolis Colts on Dec. 27 and at the Cleveland Browns in the last week of the season on Jan. 3. Again, with all three of those teams being playoff-viable, Pittsburgh knows it cannot win those games with a lackluster effort. Expect for the Steelers to play hard in all three of those games down the stretch.

The other thing working in the Steelers’ favor, besides a shot at history, is potentially having the No. 1 seed. Since the Chiefs only have one loss on the year, Pittsburgh cannot let up in a single game until it clinches home-field advantage. It may not be until Week 15 or Week 16 at the earliest. That first-round bye will be a precious commodity for the Steelers come playoff time.

With there only being one first-round bye available now and going forward, it will further incentivize the Steelers to win as many games as possible. And let’s be real for three seconds. Should the Steelers get to 15-0 and have the No. 1 seed locked up, they are not going to rest starters against a division rival who would be fighting for its playoff lives at that point in Cleveland.

With no certain defeats on the remaining schedule, yes, the Steelers can go undefeated in 2020.