A guide to the 5 biggest games remaining on the Pittsburgh Steelers schedule

The second half of the Pittsburgh Steelers schedule is riddled with enough road debris to send their season swerving, even without carelessness in trap games lending the Baltimore Ravens a hand.

Their setback on Thursday night against Cleveland wasn’t a debilitating blow, but it punctured the air out of their pursuit of a first-round bye. Looking back does no good for anyone though. 

Peering ahead, Pittsburgh still has a minefield to navigate. The schedule that looked tough at the beginning of the season is as deadly as ever. The obstacles that lie ahead include teams floating on Cloud 9, a Christmas Day game on four days' rest, two showdowns with a desperate Joe Burrow, and Philly eager to prove itself against a fellow division leader.

Bengals in Week 13 and 18

Technically, the Bengals have the fourth and fifth most important games remaining on their schedule because they’re due to play twice in the next six weeks.

Joe Burrow’s season stacks up to any quarterback in this league. He’s been lighting up defenses for 300 yards and multiple touchdowns in losses at a prolific rate due to their mediocre defense. Burrow’s 3,000-plus yards, 27 touchdowns, and four interceptions are a testament to how much he’s been let down by the other side. Burrow’s influence has kept the Bengals competitive. They’ve come out on the wrong end of close matchups against the Ravens twice, the Chargers, and Kansas City by a combined eight points. 

The Bengals are merely a glint in the eye of the AFC North division race, but a win against Pittsburgh on Dec. 1 could give the Ravens a clean shot at pole position in the division crown marathon. 

Cincinnati will be scrapping like their playoff lives depend on it because every matchup from this point forward is a de facto elimination game. The 7-5 Broncos have a cushion on their lead over Cincy, Miami, and for the final playoff seeds. A loss Sunday improves their probability of reaching the playoffs to 22 percent while a loss diminishes those odds to 4 percent.

If the Bengals can remain in playoff contention until Week 18, their season's final matchup takes on even greater importance. As for Week 13, the Bengals are Vegas favorites which goes to show how  lowly regarded Pittsburgh’s 8-3 start is. 

Philadelphia Eagles in Week 15

Regionally, this matchup is a rivalry even if the two franchises don’t treat each other like antagonists.

The battle of Pennsylvania features the Eagles and Steelers on their upward trajectories. Philadelphia is one of the league’s most complete teams. Vic Fangio operates the levers on the NFL’s No. 1 defense. Saquon Barkley is a terror with the ball in his hands behind a fortified offensive line, but he’ll face gridlock against the Steelers stellar run defense. While Barkley is the tip of the sphere, Philly’s offense has superior athletes all over the field. 

If the league’s contenders were divided into tiers, Philly would be at the bottom of tier one in the pyramid. Pittsburgh is a tier below banging on the ceiling. A Pittsburgh win would be another profound message to the league, while a loss heading into a stretch that includes Baltimore and Kansas City could be cataclysmic.

Kansas City Chiefs in Week 17

Christmas on Netflix is as primetime as it gets during the regular season. The only comparable stage is the NFL’s kickoff game. Doing so in the ultimate measuring stick game against the Chiefs adds an extra unit of pressure to the equation. Depending on how the next four weeks shake out for Pittsburgh, first-round bye could also be on the table. Even without that final possibility, beating the defending champs right before the playoffs begin is a major confidence boost. 

The Chiefs have never looked more beatable while playing chicken racing to the cliff every week. And yet, they’re 10-1 because Patrick Mahomes has a different aura than any other quarterback in the league. On third downs, he’s the NFL’s highest-rated quarterback. No matter what gets thrown at him, he rises above defensive schemes. The man stores carbon all game and creates diamonds in crunch time.

If Mahomes doesn't have the chance to make winning plays Chris Jones and the Chiefs defense are bonecrushers. Unfortunately, the Steelers are going to be heading into their matchup against Kansas City on a Wednesday, just four days after another Black and Blue division showdown against the Baltimore Ravens.

Baltimore Ravens in Week 16

It’s hard to believe it, but the Steelers have been at the top of the AFC North since Week 1. And yet, Baltimore has been treated like the Super Bowl contender laying low until December, instead of the Steelers.

Pittsburgh’s loss in Cleveland opened the window for Baltimore to slink past security and back into the division race. Week 16 is potentially Pittsburgh’s opportunity to sweep Baltimore and reinforce the adage that defense wins championships. 

Baltimore’s offense has been a schematic nightmare for almost everyone except Pittsburgh. The 16 points they scored in Week 11 was their season low and Lamar Jackson was once again stymied by Tomlin and Co. Given the history of these teams, don’t be surprised if the division crown is decided this weekend.