The Steelers’ 2025 schedule has been revealed — and there are a plethora of difficult matchups throughout for the Black and Gold faithful to worry about. From incredibly long distances to travel, to nightmarish divisional games on Thursday Night Football, and extremely difficult road matchups against potential Super Bowl contenders, here are the Steelers’ five toughest contests from their 2025 schedule.
One could argue that the Vikings have little business being on this list — considering that their QB is coming off a season-ending knee injury with zero regular season experience — but Minnesota’s defense has looked great under DC Brian Flores. While the Steelers secondary will definitely have their hands full with Vikings WRs Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison, the real red flag in this matchup centers on the Mason Rudolph-led, WR2-less Pittsburgh offense —which is the most worrying factor in Ireland.
Back-to-back divisional games in Weeks 6 and 7 are tough enough, but facing the Bengals on short notice — and in Cincinnati — is a recipe for disaster. Luckily, the Bengals’ terrible defense may hold them back in the contest — but the Steelers offense may not be able to take advantage.
The reigning NFL MVP Josh Allen and his Buffalo Bills travel to Pittsburgh in Week 13 — and it will likely be a long game for the Steelers. The Bills may have lost veteran wideout Amari Cooper — but Allen, coupled with terrific skill position players like WR Khalil Shakir and RB James Cook, are driving forces behind what many expect to still be a high-powered Buffalo offense.
If the Ravens didn’t expose the Steelers’ run defense twice at the end of 2024, Baltimore wouldn’t have made this list. Even with Pittsburgh re-tooling the unit with an emphasis on stopping opposing rushing attacks, there’s no guarantee that the Steel City will be ready for Derrick Henry and Lamar Jackson — let alone facing them in Baltimore, with the new Ravens WR DeAndre Hopkins waiting to welcome them as well.
The only way to stop the Detroit Lions is with a solid offense — and unfortunately for Pittsburgh, the Steelers may have an even harder time scoring points than in 2024. Hosting the Lions would be a problem in its own right — but facing them at Ford Field in Detroit? Yikes.