Admittedly, there were a lot of topics about which I could write today. I could discuss Manchester City winning their fourth-consecutive Premier League title, the first club in the history of English soccer to win four-straight top-flight league titles. I could also discuss an eventful week for the Pirates, during which they won four of their seven games (including three of four against the Chicago Cubs), saw Paul Skenes strike out 11 through six no-hit innings in the second of those four games, and saw themselves lose on a very controversial play at the plate in the third game despite Bailey Falter’s 7.2 shutout innings.
While City and the Pirates could have been discussed today, I instead want to turn your attention to the NFL’s debacle, also known as the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 2024-25 schedule. This might be one of the least thought-out, most inconsiderate, and most brutal schedules in the history of the NFL. At least, that can certainly be said for the second half of the season.
The 2024-25 season begins without too many complaints, although it is frustrating to open on the road almost every single season. The first two games are at Atlanta against the brand-new, Kirk Cousins-led Falcons (1:00PM) and then in Denver for Russell Wilson’s “homecoming” (4:25PM). The home opener comes the next week against the Los Angeles Chargers, a team led by former University of Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh (1:00PM). The Steelers then travel to Indianapolis to face second-year quarterback Anthony Richardson (assuming he is not hurt by then) and the Colts (1:00PM), before returning home for a Sunday Night Football game against the Dallas Cowboys.
Another trip out west sees a rematch of the Immaculate Reception, with the Raiders playing host to Pittsburgh in Las Vegas (4:25PM), which is then followed by two consecutive home games against New York opposition: a Sunday Night Football encounter with the Jets, led by Aaron Rodgers in what he hopes to be his first healthy season with the franchise, and then a Monday Night game against what is expected to be a subpar Giants team. For the record, I am not a fan of back-to-back primetime games, and even more so against having three night games in the span of four weeks. I wish this was the biggest issue that I had with the schedule, but it pales in comparison to what I will discuss shortly. First, though, the Steelers have their bye week sandwiched between the MNF home game against the Giants and a road tilt against the Jayden Daniels-led Washington Commanders (1:00PM),
Now, you may have noticed that the Steelers do not have the Cleveland Browns, Baltimore Ravens, or Cincinnati Bengals on their schedule through the first ten weeks. This may seem odd, as you play each team in your division twice. What the NFL schedulers decided to do was have these six games all occur during the last eight weeks of the season, something that boggles the mind.
The closing stretch is as follows: home against Baltimore (1:00PM), at Cleveland (Thursday Night Football), at Cincinnati (1:00PM), home against Cleveland (1:00PM)–that is four-consecutive divisional games, if you are keeping track–at Philadelphia (4:25PM), a Saturday night game at Baltimore, a WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON CHRISTMAS DAY GAME against Kansas City (1:00PM), and then the finale against Cincinnati at a time yet to be determined.
First of all, why would it be a good idea to follow up a Saturday night game on the road–against a division rival, no less–with an early afternoon game against the defending champions? Well, I do not think they care about whether it is a good idea. Per the NFL Vice President of Broadcast Planning, the league took into account Taylor Swift’s concert schedule when making the NFL schedule. That is correct–Taylor Swift’s tour helped contribute to this absolute lunacy. “Who cares if they play on three-and-a-half days’ rest? We want T-Swift at the Christmas game!”
I think the idea of having a game on a Wednesday is asinine in general, unless the preceding game is on a Thursday night (or potentially a black Friday game). But, having it in the early afternoon? After a Saturday game played at night? A rivalry game? Give me a break.
The idea that they would backload the schedule such that every division game is played after the Steelers’ bye week, allowing for no recovery or recuperation between what are generally the most physical games the team plays, is idiotic. There are no circumstances under which this should be done–it is dangerous for the players, and I believe that the quality of the Steelers’ play will diminish over this period as a result of the cumulative wear-and-tear of such important contests.
The NFL schedulers are either stupid or greedy (or both). This lack of balance in the Steelers’ schedule makes that evident. If I were not such an avid fan, I would hope that it would blow up in there faces.