It is not everything, but it is something. Although the Pittsburgh Steelers do have to play the Minnesota Vikings across the pond in Week 4, they also have one of the most travel-friendly schedules in the league. Pittsburgh will travel an estimated 15,062 miles this season. While all four of their AFC North rivals will travel fewer miles than then, Pittsburgh ranks ninth in fewest miles traveled.
A reason for this is the AFC North will play the NFC North in its entirety this season. The only game the Steelers will have to play in the Pacific Time Zone this year will be at the Los Angeles Chargers. As Steelers Depot mentioned, Pittsburgh's other road games this season are at its three AFC North division rivals, the Chicago Bears, the Detroit Lions, the New England Patriots and the New York Jets.
What I am getting at is every precious mile traveled matters a ton. It would be such a shame if the not-so-lethal combination of Mason Rudolph and rookie Will Howard out of Ohio State completely waste this opportunity. We still do not know the order of the games, but we do know all 17 of the Steelers' opponents, as well as where the games will be played. It might be time to give Aaron Rodgers a call...
Let it be known that the Steelers will be traveling less than half of what the Chargers will have to.
Thirty-two NFL teams will travel 625,947 miles this season. Here is the breakdown, via @billsperos: pic.twitter.com/WJ2sU5hrVG
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) May 13, 2025
Pittsburgh Steelers have to take advantage of their travel advantage
Right now, it seems as though the Steelers are continuing to take their sweet time before finding a better solution under center at quarterback over Rudolph. Because of the familiarity they have with him, as well as Mike Tomlin being their head coach, Pittsburgh will still win around nine games with him leading charge. My thought is a guy like Rodgers, or even Kirk Cousins, could make them better.
With NFL games often going down to the wire, every precious edge you can get matters. One of the things that actually matters to me when it comes to the NFL schedule release is distance and time traveled. A schedule's strength at the start of the year is far different than what it ends up being. Being able to prepare well ahead of time when it comes to travel could help a team sink or swim.
As far as getting a perceived upgrade at quarterback is concerned, it shows to Steelers Nation that Pittsburgh is taking this offseason seriously, hoping to move forward, without giving off the impression that the new status quo of losing in the first round is increasingly okay. Rodgers may not be light years better than Rudolph, but his expertise would help Pittsburgh take advantage of this.
Any team traveling fewer than 20,000 miles this season should find ways to make it work for them.