By: Sean McGeown
SteelerNation.com
Looking ahead to the Pittsburgh Steelers 2020 regular season schedule, there's no doubt that every game matters. Everyone knows football is a game of inches, and every game counts. Often times playoff seeding and aspirations come down to week 17, and hoping one team loses or another wins. The Steelers are no strangers to that, come week 17 the last two seasons, they were not in control of their own destiny, and were banking on things beyond their control going their way.
Steelers players watching to see if they will make playoffs in 2018.
When you look back on any season, you always find a few games that were crucial to where your team stands by seasons end, whether that's in the playoffs, or on the outside looking in.
Looking ahead to the 2020 season, there is no doubt every game will matter, but there are a few that stick out in particular, and three in my opinion that could play crucial roles to the Steelers' status at seasons end.
The first one that jumps out to me is week 1, when the Steelers travel to MetLife Stadium to face the New York Giants on Monday night. Normally week 1 isn't a game that defines your season, but in the Steelers case, there's a lot of things that the league and fans are going to look to see. First and foremost is the return of Ben Roethlisberger, and if at age 38 he is going to be the quarterback of old, something new, or somewhere in between. The offense was tough to watch last season and the hope among his teammates and the fans is that he is what the offense needs. Wide out JuJu Smith-Schuster went on air and called him the team's "the missing piece". There have been different takes on what to expect from Roethlisberger, from comeback player of the year predictions to people saying he should just call it quits, especially considering his draft mate and former Giants' quarterback Eli Manning did just that this off-season. A strong performance would prove the people who are on the side of him coming back right, and would be an encouraging start to the season and could set the tone early for the offense.
Everyone will also look to see how the defense comes out after a stellar 2019 campaign. The Giants don't have the most potent offense, and are definitely a different team than the one the Steelers hosted in 2016, but are certainly capable, with young star running back Saquon Barkley and second year quarterback Daniel Jones looking to make a statement of their own. The defense will have its hands full, and could be the unit that decides if the team will start the year with a win or loss.
Aside from these expectations, starting the year with a win is never a bad thing, and can definitely set a team up for success early on in the season. Not to mention after this game, the Steelers have three home games out of their following four, so grabbing a road win could help set them up for a nice start and the ability to control their destiny early.
Next up and possibly the most important game is the Thanksgiving home game against the defending AFC North Champion, Baltimore Ravens. This is pretty self-explanatory. The Ravens are coming off a season where they finished with the best record in the AFC and had the MVP of the league Lamar Jackson leading the way, and are not only Pittsburgh's biggest rivals and a team they look to beat year in and year out, but a team with a target on their backs throughout the entire conference.
By week 12 when this game takes place, the Steelers could be in multiple different positions, and a win would most likely help them in any of those circumstances. I would bet money that this game will have huge division and playoff implications, and will certainly carry a tense and playoff-like atmosphere. On top of that, these matchups are always just plain fun to watch, and it will be the first time Roehtlisberger and Jackson go head to head, as well as the first Thanksgiving home game the Steelers will play at Heinz Field.
The Ravens swept the Steelers last year, but the Steelers gave them a run for their money at home in week 5 in an overtime loss. The defense certainly gave Jackson some trouble in his only time facing them as a starter, forcing three interceptions, sacking him 5 times, and holding him to a quarterback rating of 54.9.
Lamar Jackson under pressure from TJ Watt in week 5 of 2019
If they can continue that success, and Roethlisberger plays to his capabilities, it could be the win the Steelers need to help win them their first division title since 2017, which automatically gets them into the playoffs.
The third game that really stood out to me among the others was the week 14 matchup against the Buffalo Bills in Buffalo. Buffalo is coming off a year that saw them as a team that took a big step forward, finishing the 2019 season with a 10-6 record and securing a Wild Card Playoff berth.
A big reason they secured that spot came in a week 15 showdown against Pittsburgh at Heinz Field, where they won a tough battle 17-10. I believe that the whole team knows that game could have easily gone the other way, and definitely could see them circling this one on the calendar as one they can't wait to play.
Steelers and Bills facing off in week 15 of 2019.
Aside from the game last season, this is probably one of the toughest games on the schedule based off last year, with Buffalo being one of five 2019 playoff teams on Pittsburgh's schedule, and one out of four from the AFC (Baltimore, the Tennessee Titans, and the Houston Texans being the other three). Buffalo will look to quarterback Josh Allen to continue to improve, especially after acquiring star wide out Stefon Diggs via trade, and along with a stout defense will hope to build off their success last year and show they're here to contend.
Like the Baltimore game, this game could have major playoff implications, and will definitely have a tense atmosphere. It could be a big test for the Steelers just three weeks before season's end, and could cause them to be hitting the practice field or beach chairs come playoffs.
As I said, every game is important, but these three really stood out to me when I saw the schedule. Do you agree that these three will be crucial to the outcome of Pittsburgh's season? Are there others that you think are just as or more important? Let us know in the comment section below!
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