The NFL schedule release is typically an occasion for optimism. But that's also the opening salvo for a season of anxieties. For instance, the Pittsburgh Steelers have a crisis brewing on their 2025 schedule. Their four-game stretch from Week 13 to Week 16 is a daunting challenge. Can they survive December? Their four-game slate from Nov. 30 to Dec. 21 will either feel like torture or a spinal realignment. The Steelers' regular season-ending was the former. However, the release of their 2025 schedule puts the challenges of 2025 into view.
From Week 13 to Week 16, Pittsburgh will endure one of the league’s most unforgiving stretches. It’s a murderers’ row that could either forge a playoff contender in steel or leave their postseason hopes rusting on the floor of the AFC North. Their crucible of matchups include three legitimate Super Bowl threats and four quarterbacks capable of engineering nightmares for even the most disciplined defense.
Buffalo Bills encounter the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 13
In Week 13, the gauntlet begins at home with a clash against the Buffalo Bills. Josh Allen’s MVP campaign ended with the Chiefs, which means they will embark on 2025 with a renewed drive to conquer the AFC.
The Bills followed the Kansas City Chiefs script by eschewing a true X receiver to supplement Allen. Like Mahomes and Kansas City, they still rely on one of the most dynamic offensive force multipliers in football but spent the offseason strengthening the backbone of their defense. It’s a formula that has worked for them in the past. Allen has won three of his last four head-to-head regular season matchups against the Steelers.
Instead, the Bills devoted most of their off-season to getting younger and more dynamic on the defensive end. Given their gaping hole, the quarterback, a carnivorous Bills defense could be a nightmare.
Baltimore Ravens bring the smoke in Week 14
The winds from Week 14 will push them into the Baltimore Ravens M&T Bank Stadium lair. For the second week in a row, the Steelers will face a recent MVP, but the Ravens and their pre-snap motions, Derrick Henry and heavy formations are a more elegant offensive sledgehammer than Buffalo.
When the Steelers last saw Baltimore, the Ravens were leaving their run defense in tatters. Mike Tomlin was so traumatized by their Wild Card Round round loss, that he resolved to select a defensive lineman that night. Tomlin followed through by selecting Derrick Harmon, a 315-pound olive branch to gap integrity, with their first-round pick over a signal caller and directly referenced Baltimore’s 299 rushing yards against them. Week 14 is the test of that resolve. Whether the Steelers win or lose, their ability to clog Baltimore’s rushing lanes may speak louder than the final score.
Miami Dolphins swimming in Pittsburgh waters in Week 15
Week 15 will blow the Miami Dolphins into Pittsburgh. On paper, Miami’s speed-heavy offense contrasts starkly with December football in Pittsburgh. That’s particularly true for quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, whose tropical DNA has produced starkly different outcomes based on temperature.
Tagovailoa is a formidable offensive fulcrum when healthy, but his play drops analogous to mercury in a thermometer below 60 degrees. He’s never even won an NFL game when the temperatures dip below 40 degrees and he’s thrown as many touchdowns as interceptions in those conditions. When the temperature is above 60 degrees or he’s playing in a dome, Tagovailoa is a dazzling 33-10 and has produced a margin of 50 more touchdowns than interceptions.
Detroit Lions roar against the Steelers
Finally, in Week 16, the Steelers waltz into the NFC’s newest powerhouse in four weeks when they travel to Fort Field and clash with the Detroit Lions. The Lions will be recalibrating to adjust to the departure of their playcalling virtuoso Ben Johnson and defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn.
New offensive coordinator John Morton was previously the Denver Broncos passing game coordinator but has a quarter-century of NFL experience under Pete Carroll at USC, Jon Gruden, and Sean Payton. New defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard is a 37-year-old serving as a defensive CEO. However, they’ll benefit from the return of Aidan Hutchinson who was the frontrunner for Defensive Player of the Year before fracturing his fibula and tibia. Hutchinson’s absence left the Lions without a legitimate pass rush.
If they emerge from Weeks 13 to 16 with two or three wins, they’ll likely have the inside track to the postseason and have some of the cleanest scar tissue in football. Once again, that murderer’s row of opponents will test Pittsburgh’s resolve and determine whether they’ll be a pretender or contender,