NFL 2021 Pittsburgh Steelers: Full Schedule, Predictions & Key Games
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| Photo: Kurrier |
The NFL's Pittsburgh Steelers won the AFC North in 2020, but two of their division rivals won playoff games.
A 48-37 loss to Cleveland in the AFC wild-card round offered a brutal reality check for the franchise — and the future with two-time Super Bowl champion Ben Roethlisberger. Baltimore won a playoff game, too. Pittsburgh hasn’t won a playoff game since the 2016 season, but the short-term outlook is the same. Mike Tomlin signed a three-year extension in the offseason, and Roethlisberger will be the starting quarterback in 2021.
It will be a pivotal year against a first-place schedule that includes games against the AFC West and NFC North, not to mention those AFC North rivals.
How does that schedule look now? Here is a complete breakdown of the Pittsburgh Steelers' 2021 schedule, including dates and start times for all 17 games and our early prediction.
2021 NFL Pittsburgh Steelers: Full Schedule
| WEEK | OPPONENT | DATE | TIME (ET) | NETWORK |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | at Bills | Sept. 12 | 1 p.m. | CBS |
| 2 | vs. Raiders | Sept. 19 | 1 p.m. | CBS |
| 3 | vs. Bengals | Sept. 26 | 1 p.m. | CBS |
| 4 | at Packers | Oct. 3 | 4:25 p.m. | CBS |
| 5 | vs. Broncos | Oct. 10 | 1 p.m. | FOX |
| 6 | vs. Seahawks | Oct. 17 | 8:20 p.m. | NBC |
| 7 | Bye Week | |||
| 8 | at Browns | Oct. 31 | 1 p.m. | CBS |
| 9 | vs. Bears | Nov. 8 | 8:15 p.m. | ESPN |
| 10 | vs. Lions | Nov. 14 | 1 p.m. | FOX |
| 11 | at Chargers | Nov. 21 | 8:20 p.m. | NBC |
| 12 | at Bengals | Nov. 28 | 1 p.m. | CBS |
| 13 | vs. Ravens | Dec. 5 | 4:25 p.m. | CBS |
| 14 | at Vikings | Dec. 9 | 8:20 p.m. | FOX/NFLN/Amazon |
| 15 | vs. Titans | Dec. 19 | 1 p.m. | CBS |
| 16 | at Chiefs | Dec. 26 | 4:25 p.m. | CBS |
| 17 | vs. Browns | Jan. 3 | 8:15 p.m. | ESPN |
| 18 | at Ravens | Jan. 9 | 1 p.m. | CBS |
2021 NFL Pittsburgh Steelers: Key Games
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| Photo: Pittsburgh City Paper |
Week 13 vs. Ravens: Alejandro Villanueva's move to Baltimore has added even more fuel to this fiery rivalry. The Steelers swept the season series last year and will look to continue to have success against Lamar Jackson in 2021.
Week 8 at Browns: Rest assured that the Steelers already have this game circled on their calendar. Cleveland, after all, ended Pittsburgh's 2020 season by virtue of its 48-37 victory at Heinz Field during the wild-card round of the AFC playoffs.
Week 14 at Vikings: The Steelers' final six games include five games against teams that went to the playoffs in 2020. The only team that didn't, the Vikings, feature one of the NFL's most potent offenses, led by Dalvin Cook. This game, just four days after a game against the Ravens, won't be easy.
2021 NFL Pittsburgh Steelers: Schedule Predictions
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| Photo: Yahoo News |
Week 1 – vs. Buffalo Bills
Buffalo beat the Steelers in 2020 thanks to a strong third quarter, outscoring the Steelers 14-0 in a 26-15 victory. With Pittsburgh’s defense in a weaker state this year, Josh Allen will have even more time to pick this secondary apart. Stefon Diggs should dominate, the Bills’ pass rush will cause problems and that will be more than enough to decide this game.
Pittsburgh Steelers schedule prediction: Bills 28, Steelers 16
Week 2 – vs. Las Vegas Raiders
Las Vegas tore apart its offensive line this offseason and that’s music to the ears of T.J. Watt. This projects to be a rough game for Derek Carr, with Pittsburgh’s defensive line creating constant pressure and essentially living in the backfield. The scoreboard might be close, but the game shouldn’t be.
Pittsburgh Steelers schedule prediction: Steelers 28, Raiders 20
Week 3 – vs. Cincinnati Bengals
Cincinnati didn’t have a great offseason, but it should take a step forward in 2021 with Joe Burrow healthy and this offense becoming more consistent. However, the Steelers are the more experienced team and still have enough disruptors in the front seven to make moving downfield quite difficult for the Bengals.
Pittsburgh Steelers schedule prediction: Steelers 28, Bengals 17
Week 4 – @ Green Bay Packers
It’s safe to assume Aaron Rodgers won’t be playing in this game. Facing Jordan Love in his first season as a starter, Watt is going to look for every way he can to make a statement in his return home. With the Packers’ offense making more mistakes, especially under pressure, there’s a great chance Pittsburgh comes away with the win.
Pittsburgh Steelers schedule prediction: Steelers 30, Packers 24
Week 5 – vs. Denver Broncos
As the Steelers’ defense regresses, Vic Fangio’s group in Denver is poised to rebound in 2021. The pass rush gets Von Miller back and this might be one of the best secondaries in the NFL. Whether Teddy Bridgewater is starting and protecting the football or the Broncos’ defense does the heavy lifting for Drew Lock, the Broncos win this game.
Pittsburgh Steelers schedule prediction: Broncos 24, Steelers 20
Week 6 – vs. Seattle Seahawks
Russell Wilson and Co. against the Steelers’ secondary is a recipe for fireworks. Pittsburgh doesn’t have the cornerbacks to cover D.K. Metcalf and Tyler Lockett. A great pass rush could help offset that, but Wilson is better than anyone at buying time. Count on three touchdowns from Wilson and Jamal Adams getting a sack on Big Ben in a Seahawks’ victory.
Pittsburgh Steelers schedule prediction: Seahawks 27, Steelers 21
WEEK 7 BYE
Week 8 – @ Cleveland Browns
We saw a changing of the guards last winter, Cleveland took the reigns in this division and will be controlling this rivalry. After years of being the little brother in this series, the Browns are poised to dominate the Steelers for the next several years.
Pittsburgh Steelers schedule prediction: Browns 27, Steelers 17
Week 9 – vs. Chicago Bears
Andy Dalton won’t be the starter for long. If Justin Fields is under center for Chicago, he can create just enough plays in a potential low-scoring game. Both of these defenses are good, but not elite, and that should make this a close contest that comes down to the final minutes.
Pittsburgh Steelers schedule prediction: Bears 17, Steelers 13
Week 10 – vs. Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions might be a very good team in a few years, but this will be a season their fans won’t want to witness. While getting pressure won’t be easy against Detroit’s offensive line, there isn’t a real threat at wide receiver. Plus, the Lions’ defense is a huge work in progress. This might be one of the Steelers’ few double-digit victories.
Pittsburgh Steelers schedule prediction: Steelers 31, Lions 13
Week 11 – @ Los Angeles Chargers
Los Angeles finally provided its quarterback with an offensive line. Justin Herbert thrived when given a clean pocket in his rookie season and he should take another step forward in the upcoming season. Pair that with Brandon Staley calling plays for a healthy defense, the end result is another defeat for Pittsburgh, Sports Nauts cites.
Pittsburgh Steelers schedule prediction: Chargers 30, Steelers 25
Week 12 – @ Cincinnati Bengals
The Bengals are a year away from giving Pittsburgh a serious threat in their head-to-head meetings. T.J. Watt just seems to love facing Cincinnati’s offensive line and we don’t expect anything different this year. With the Bengals’ pass rush still weak, they can’t exploit the Steelers’ Achilles heel.
Pittsburgh Steelers schedule prediction: Steelers 26, Bengals 17
Week 13 – vs. Baltimore Ravens
The Steelers swept their two-game series against their hated rivals in 2020, expect a very different outcome this time around. Baltimore’s offense is far more explosive than the one that took the field last year and the Steelers’ secondary is weaker. With the Ravens having the superior quarterback, running game and winning in the trenches, this goes to Baltimore.
Pittsburgh Steelers schedule prediction: Ravens 31, Steelers 27
Week 14 – @ Minnesota Vikings
Minnesota’s defense should be better than the unit we saw take the field last season. That’s good news for Mike Zimmer’s stress level, but there are still enough questions at quarterback that lead to the Steelers having the edge in this matchup.
Pittsburgh Steelers schedule prediction: Steelers 17, Vikings 10
Week 15 – vs. Tennessee Titans
Tennessee’s defense should be a lot better than what we saw in 2020 and Bud Dupree will play a critical role in that improvement. Both teams figure to run the ball a ton in this one, setting up play-action shots to create more excitement later in the game. The edge goes to Ryan Tannehill over Roethlisberger, but this should be a competitive matchup.
Pittsburgh Steelers schedule prediction: Titans 34, Steelers 27
Week 16 – @ Kansas City Chiefs
There will be plenty of moments in 2021 when Pittsburgh’s defense looks great, creating turnovers and getting to the quarterback. Against Patrick Mahomes and a vastly improved offensive line, that won’t be the case. This could be one of those matchups that is decided by halftime, with the Steelers only making it look closer than it was at the end.
Pittsburgh Steelers schedule prediction: Chiefs 41, Steelers 31
Week 17 – vs. Cleveland Browns
Pittsburgh did its best to tread water this offseason, making the best of a difficult cap situation. As for the Browns, they might be the biggest winners of the NFL Draft and free agency. These two teams are headed in opposite directions and no one should be surprised by a two-game sweep in 2021.
Pittsburgh Steelers schedule prediction: Browns 34, Steelers 24
Week 18 – @ Baltimore Ravens
Baltimore’s depth chart is simply superior to the Steelers’ roster in 2021. When you have nearly every advantage on offense and one of the NFL’s best defenses, that’s more than enough to get the job done at home. After getting swept by Pittsburgh last fall, Baltimore will get the brooms out in 2021.
Pittsburgh Steelers schedule prediction: Ravens 24, Steelers 13
Pittsburgh Steelers projected record: 6-11
A quarterback approaching 40 playing behind a potentially awful offensive line is a recipe for disaster. Pittsburgh approached the 2021 NFL Draft like it was just a few pieces away from Super Bowl contention. That will likely prove to be a mistake as this team could regress significantly in 2021 and then be forced to launch a rebuild next offseason.
2021 NFL Pittsburgh Steelers: Toughest Matchup
Week: 16 | Date: Dec. 26 | Time: 4:25 p.m.
Opponent: at Kansas City Chiefs
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| Photo: KC Kingdom |
The Steelers have faced Patrick Mahomes just one time prior to 2021, and the result wasn't pretty. The soon-to-be league MVP fired six touchdown passes in handing the Steelers a 42-37 loss in Week 2 of the 2018 season. The Steelers' defense will undoubtedly have to be better this time around, CBS Sports cites.
How to watch Steelers: live stream every 2021 Pittsburgh Steelers game online in the US
Steelers fans in the US that don’t want to miss a single game this season will need either a cable package or a subscription to a streaming service that gives you access to CBS, NBC, Fox, ESPN and the NFL Network. This season, Fox and NFL network will show Thursday Night Football, NBC will show Sunday Night Football and ESPN will show Monday Night Football.
The NFL also has its own streaming service called NFL Game Pass which costs just $99 for the whole season. However, there is a big catch as in the US: the service will only allow you to watch replays of games, and doesn't offer live streams like its international version.
For this reason, we recommend getting a subscription to a streaming service that gives you access to CBS, NBC, Fox, ESPN and NFL Network, instead of signing up for NFL Game Pass. If you’re located outside the US it’s a different story as the International NFL Game Pass doesn’t have these same restrictions but more on that later.
Of the many over-the-top streaming options, some will give you nearly all of the channels you need for complete coverage - but to our knowledge, only fuboTV currently offers them all.
How to watch a Pittsburgh Steelers live stream from outside your countryYou may not be able to watch the Pittsburgh Steelers play using your usual cable TV or streaming service subscription due to coverage blackout rules in the US or international geo-blocking restrictions. When this is the case, the simplest and most reliable solution is to use a VPN service, which masks your IP address - and therefore your location - when you visit a website. On top of that, it gives you the ability to reroute your device's internet connection through a server in a different country or state, thereby getting you access to coverage that might not otherwise be available - even though you probably pay for it. Use a VPN to get a Steelers live stream abroad We've taken the time to try out all the biggest VPN providers and we found ExpressVPN to be the pick of the bunch. It works with lots of devices and offers super fast connections across its many servers. Throw in its robust set of security features and ExpressVPN is the best all-round VPN for streaming - and perhaps best of all, it has a 30-day money back guarantee plus 3 months FREE when you subscribe for a year. Access ExpressVPN via your laptop, iPhone, tablet, Android phone, PlayStation, Xbox and plenty more. Express is a do-it-all service that also benefits from 24/7 customer support. |
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