The Toughest 3-Game Stretch for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2012

Looking at the Pittsburgh Steelers' 2012 schedule, a few key games and key weeks jump right out at you: Weeks 11 and 13 when they face the Baltimore Ravens, Week 1 against the Peyton Manning-led Denver Broncos and Week 9 against the reigning Super Bowl champions the New York Giants.

But when it comes to the most dangerous three-week span of the season, it's late in the season for the Steelers. It starts in Week 13 against the Ravens in Baltimore, continues on with a home game against the San Diego Chargers and concludes with an away contest against the Dallas Cowboys.

This stretch of games comes at a critical point in the season, when playoff berths and seeding begins to fully take shape.

The opening game of these three, against the Ravens, is the second time in three weeks the Steelers will have to face their most troublesome rival. They cannot afford to drop both games as they did last year and still hope to make the playoffs. 

Defeating Baltimore is hard work, and it's even more difficult to do it on the team's home turf. The Ravens' dangerous defense, combined with the seemingly unstoppable running back Ray Rice. led them to the AFC North title last season. Clearly, they are looking to repeat as divisional champions this season. 

With two highly physical games against Baltimore near the end of the season, there's likely to be a bit of wear and tear on a number of Steelers players.

They then have to go from this test back to Pittsburgh to host the Chargers—a squad that it would be a mistake to underestimate this season.

San Diego lost some of its viciousness last season, but it has made a number of offseason additions, via both free agency and the draft, to bring more bite to the team—especially on defense.

Granted, the Chargers haven't had a win against Pittsburgh since 2006, but in the intervening years they've consistently been in the discussion as Super Bowl contenders. And at this late point in the season, they'll most certainly be vying for at least a Wild Card berth, making them dangerous.

Dangerous is also a word to describe the Dallas Cowboys. This may just be a do-or-die year for the constantly-underperforming franchise. They fell just shy of a playoff berth last year, and the team to go in their stead, the Giants, ended up winning the Super Bowl as a result.

The Cowboys' biggest goal this season isn't just to reach the postseason—it's to avoid embarrassment. Defeating the Steelers in JerryLand would certainly help them not only in their bid to make the playoffs (as the NFC East plays the AFC North this season) but also their effort to prove they are still a strong, threatening opponent.

All of these games play out as the 2012 season comes to an end. As part of the hotly-contested AFC North, the Steelers must win all three if they are to head to the postseason as divisional champs.

This year, as in the last, the AFC North's postseason picture will likely play out at its very end. So the Steelers must finish strong in order to clinch their spot. But with these three games coming during that time, it's going to be a struggle.

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