Steelers: 3 ways NFL screwed Pittsburgh over with 2022 schedule
By John Buhler
2. Week 3: at Cleveland Browns (Thursday, Sept. 22)
Much will be made about the Steelers’ first quarter of the season. Pittsburgh could be 4-0 or struggle to get to 1-3. This is because they start the season on the road at the Cincinnati Bengals and have the New England Patriots as their home opener in Week 2. No matter how those two games go, playing the Cleveland Browns on Thursday Night Football in Week 3 is not fair at all.
Though we should know by then Deshaun Watson’s status for Cleveland, this is an incredibly difficult three-game stretch for the Steelers right out of the gate. If the Bengals are as good as they were a year ago and the Patriots are once again playoff viable, the Steelers could be facing an 0-3 deficit to start the year if Cleveland has a bounce-back campaign. The panic might commence.
If the Steelers go 1-2 or worse to start the season, Pittsburgh sports talk radio will be in rare form with everybody and their yinzer brother arguing about Mike Tomlin’s quarterback decision and how he got it wrong. A win over Cleveland to save face would go a long way towards quieting the critics, but a loss to the Browns could signify this being a long and most painful season for the Steelers.
The good news for the Steelers is they will have 10 days to get ready for the New York Jets.