NFL can make up for a brutal Steelers' second-half schedule in the best way possible

If the Pittsburgh Steelers want to get to nine wins this year, they are going to need to win about six of them before their Week 9 bye. I did not realize how truly brutal their second half of the season is. Even though they may have upgraded at quarterback this season, I do not have them as a playoff team this year, mostly because I think the Cincinnati Bengals are not going to be without Joe Burrow yet again.

Regardless of if you sling Terrible Towels or not, I cannot believe the NFL did the great people of Western P.A. this dirty. Not only do the Steelers have to open at Arthur Smith's former place of employment, but they don't play a single division game until the second half of the season. They were a playoff team a year ago, but how the Steelers have to play from Week 10 on is not going to be easy.

While the first half of the Steelers' 2024 NFL schedule is navigable, the second half is unforgiving.

• Week 10: at Washington Commanders (Sunday, Nov. 10, 1:00 p.m. ET)
• Week 11: vs. Baltimore Ravens (Sunday, Nov. 17, 1:00 p.m. ET)
• Week 12: at Cleveland Browns (Thursday, Nov. 21, 8:15 p.m. ET)
• Week 13: at Cincinnati Bengals (Sunday, Dec. 1, 1:00 p.m. ET)
• Week 14: vs. Cleveland Browns (Sunday, Dec. 8, 1:00 p.m. ET)
• Week 15: at Philadelphia Eagles (Sunday, Dec. 15, 4:05 p.m. ET)
• Week 16: at Baltimore Ravens (Sunday, Dec. 22, 4:30 p.m. ET)
• Week 17: vs. Kansas City Chiefs (Wednesday, Dec. 25, 1:00 p.m. ET)
• Week 18: vs. Cincinnati Bengals (Sunday, Jan. 5, TBA ET)

Fortunately, the NFL may do right be the Steelers for this scheduling catastrophe and award them the right to host the 2026 NFL Draft. Keep in mind that Pittsburgh will never be in the Super Bowl rotation.

Pittsburgh is perhaps one of the best football cities the NFL has not let host the NFL Draft yet to date.

NFL can do right by Pittsburgh by having city host 2026 NFL Draft

To me, this feels like an especially critical season for the Steelers. It has been Mike Tomlin's way or the highway for the better part of two decades now. With The Fake Slide Diva Kenny Pickett now playing for the Eagles across the state, Tomlin must put his trust and faith on the underwhelming combination of Russell Wilson and Justin Fields. Only one of them has a chance to be their savior.

With how daunting the second half of the Steelers' regular-season schedule is, we may need to prepare ourselves for the worst Steelers season in years if it truly hits the fan. Not to say the second half of the year is going to cost Tomlin his job, but it wouldn't shock me if the Steelers' brass used it as a way to pin a tough scheduling break on him. This comes down to the NFL, and the AFC North itself.

For now, Pittsburgh should be one of the handful of cities outside of the Super Bowl rotation that should regularly host the NFL Draft. The Steelers have great fans and a nationwide fanbase. To have the NFL world congregate near The Confluence would be so incredibly dope. For as much as Pittsburgh has meant to the NFL, this would be a great way to offset what could be a terrible season.

Tomlin will still somehow find a way to go around 9-8 with this schedule, but man, is that thing brutal...