Mike Tomlin’s Pittsburgh Steelers kept his above. 500 streak alive last season, but they’ll have to navigate an incredibly difficult AFC North in order to earn a playoff appearance in 2023. What does the Steelers’ schedule look like next year, and can Pittsburgh compete for the postseason in a crowded division and conference as Kenny Pickett enters his second NFL campaign?
Pittsburgh Steelers Schedule and Opponents
Here is the Steelers’ complete preseason and regular-season schedule for 2023.
Steelers Preseason Schedule
- Week 1: at Buccaneers
TBD | Friday, Aug. 11 - Week 2: vs. Bills
CBS | 6:30 p.m. ET (Saturday, Aug. 19) - Week 3: at Falcons
NBC | TBD
Steelers Regular-Season Schedule
- Week 1: vs. 49ers
FOX | 1 p.m. ET (Sunday, Sep. 10) - Week 2: vs. Browns (MNF)
ABC | 8:15 p.m. ET (Monday, Sep. 18) - Week 3: at Raiders (SNF)
NBC | 8:20 p.m. ET (Sunday, Sep. 24) - Week 4: at Texans
CBS | 1 p.m. ET (Sunday, Oct. 1) - Week 5: vs. Ravens
CBS | 1 p.m. ET (Sunday, Oct. 8) - Week 6: BYE
- Week 7: at Rams
FOX | 4:05 p.m. ET (Sunday, Oct. 22) - Week 8: vs. Jaguars
CBS | 1 p.m. ET (Sunday, Oct. 29) - Week 9: vs. Titans (TNF)
Prime Video | 8:15 p.m. ET (Thursday, Nov. 2) - Week 10: vs. Packers
CBS | 1 p.m. ET (Sunday, Oct. 12) - Week 11: at Browns
CBS | 1 p.m. ET (Sunday, Oct. 19) - Week 12: at Bengals
CBS | 1 p.m. ET (Sunday, Oct. 26) - Week 13: vs. Cardinals
CBS | 1 p.m. ET (Sunday, Dec. 3) - Week 14: vs. Patriots (TNF)
Prime Video | 8:15 p.m. ET (Thursday, Dec. 7) - Week 15: at Colts
TBD - Week 16: vs. Bengals
NBC | 4:30 p.m. ET (Saturday, Dec. 23) - Week 17: at Seahawks
FOX | 4:05 p.m. ET (Sunday, Dec. 31) - Week 18: at Ravens
TBD
Steelers Strength of Schedule
The Steelers — and the AFC North, in general — have a relatively easy schedule in 2023. Based on last year’s records, Pittsburgh has the 16th-ranked strength of schedule in the NFL. Their respective opponents combined to go 134-151-2 for a .470 record.
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Using the previous season’s win-loss records to gauge strength of schedule isn’t always the best method, though, given that it doesn’t account for how teams have improved or declined over the offseason.
PFN’s Arif Hasan’s SOS model estimates team strength to take a stab at how difficult or weak a team’s schedule will be. In Pittsburgh’s, the results weren’t all that different from the win-loss SOS, as the Steelers project to have the league’s 19th-most-difficult schedule in 2023.
Steelers Record Prediction
The Steelers ended the 2022 campaign on a hot streak, finishing the year by posting a 7-2 record after their bye. Pittsburgh had a chance to sneak into the playoffs after defeating the Browns in Week 18, but they didn’t get the help they needed from other AFC contenders.
Development isn’t always linear in the NFL, but Pickett showed clear signs of improvement down the stretch. The 2022 first-round selection threw just one interception over his last eight starts and ranked 11th in expected points added (EPA) per dropback after the Steelers’ bye.
Pittsburgh’s offense ranked 10th in DVOA after the bye and has since added several new pieces, especially up front. After signing James Daniels and Mason Cole last offseason, the Steelers inked former Eagles guard Isaac Seumalo to a three-year deal before trading up to acquire a franchise left tackle in Georgia’s Broderick Jones.
Pickett will also have two new weapons to throw to as he enters his second NFL campaign. Trade acquisition Allen Robinson might not have much of a ceiling, but he will give the Steelers’ passing offense a high floor. And rookie tight end Darnell Washington could be an asset as a run blocker and in the red zone.
Pittsburgh’s defense — headlined by T.J. Watt, Minkah Fitzpatrick, and Cameron Heyward — will always be in the conversation for the league’s best unit. While the Steelers lost Cameron Sutton to free agency, they subsequently added fellow cornerbacks Patrick Peterson and Joey Porter Jr., giving themselves upside in the secondary.
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If the Steelers played in the AFC South or almost anywhere in the NFC, they would look like an obvious playoff contender heading into 2023. But there’s a much more difficult barrier to entry in the AFC, where Joe Burrow, Lamar Jackson, and Deshaun Watson play within Pittsburgh’s division, and Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Aaron Rodgers, and Justin Herbert exist outside of it.
Projected Record: 8-9
