Pittsburgh Steelers' 5 Toughest Matchups of 2015 Schedule

Like all NFL teams, some of the Pittsburgh Steelers' contests in the upcoming 2015 season will be more difficult than others. But unlike every other team in the league, no team is facing a more daunting slate of games this year. Based on the 2014 win-loss records of their opponents this year, the Steelers have the toughest strength of schedule ahead.

But some games are going to be more difficult to win than others. Here are the five toughest games the Steelers are scheduled to play this year.

Week 1: At New England Patriots

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It's possible that the NFL season opener between the Steelers and the Super Bowl champion New England Patriots on September 10 could be marred by two noticeable and major absences—those of Steelers running back Le'Veon Bell and Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, who are currently set to serve three- and four-game suspensions to start the year at this writing.

If those suspensions are upheld following appeal, the Steelers will be in the unfortunate position of not having their leading running back—and their yards-after-the-catch leader—from 2014, while the Patriots will have to make do with another quarterback. But even without Brady, the Steelers could be in some trouble here.

First is the lack of Bell. Bell averaged 4.7 yards per carry and 85.1 rushing yards per game last year, but he also averaged 53.4 receiving yards per game. Though the Steelers have DeAngelo Williams to get them through Bell's suspension, it's not likely he can make up the 138.5 yards per game that Bell represents.

The second is that, should the Patriots be without Brady, they won't be without Rob Gronkowski. The tight end is practically unstoppable against high-end defenses; the Steelers defense, meanwhile, has undergone a facelift in the offseason, with the results still to be determined. But last year, the Steelers struggled in coverage. 

Football Outsiders ranked the Steelers' 2014 pass defense as 30th in the league, 20th in the league against a team's top wideout and 28th in the league in defending passes thrown to a tight end. Since Gronkowski is in many ways a No. 1 receiver while also being a sometimes-traditional tight end, it may make no difference who is under center throwing to him.

A Bell-less Steelers offense coupled with a defense that could have few answers for Gronkowski means a difficult way for Pittsburgh to open its season, especially on the road.

Week 9: Vs. Oakland Raiders

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In the past 10-plus years, the Steelers have consistently been the better team, record-wise, than the Oakland Raiders. But something strange happens when these two teams meet—Oakland routinely gets the better of the Steelers. 

Since 2002, the Raiders and Steelers have played each other eight times—five games in Pittsburgh and three in Oakland. And the Steelers have won only three of those contests, falling both in Oakland as well as on their home turf of Heinz Field.

For whatever reason, the Raiders have the Steelers' number, and this has continued through multiple coaching changes, quarterback switches and personnel shifts on Oakland's part.

That's why the Steelers' Week 9 contest in which they host the Raiders is one of their most difficult. The Raiders could have one win at that point, and it wouldn't matter. The Steelers could be undefeated, and it wouldn't matter. Somehow, the Raiders manage to put together that one play, or one drive, that flummoxes the Steelers, leading Pittsburgh to lose games by a touchdown or less.

It could be a simple swing pass to underrated Raiders running back Roy Helu, who is in his first year with the team. It could be a result of an improving Raiders quarterback Derek Carr finally becoming a master of the team's vertical passing offense. It could be a Steelers' goal-line fumble.

Whatever the reason, something always seems to happen to cause the Steelers grief in these games. That's why it's a tough matchup for 2015.

Week 12: At Seattle Seahawks

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Not only do the Steelers have to face the Seattle Seahawks this season, they have to do so on the road—and Seattle lost just one home game in the regular season last year. Seattle also ended its last two seasons at the Super Bowl and could have one more year of serious contention ahead.

Though the Steelers may struggle with a Seattle run game that averaged 5.3 yards per carry and 172.6 yards per game last year, given that Pittsburgh's defense allowed 4.4 yards per rush in 2014, that's not the biggest problem. No, the biggest problem facing the Steelers defense will be tight end Jimmy Graham. 

Much as the Steelers could struggle in coverage against the Patriots' Gronkowski, the same can be said for Graham, who has over 4,700 receiving yards to go with the 51 touchdowns he's scored in the last five years. And he's not seeing a major downgrade at quarterback going from Drew Brees in New Orleans to Russell Wilson—while Brees was Pro Football Focus' most accurate quarterback in 2014, Wilson ranked fifth.

To stop Graham, it will be an all-hands affair for the Pittsburgh defense. The Steelers' pass coverage, not just from their cornerbacks and safeties, but also their linebackers, will have to be playing at its highest possible level to limit the damage Graham can do.

The Steelers must do this with an eye to understanding that if Graham and the passing game are choked out, stopping Wilson and Marshawn Lynch from running the ball will become a major concern.

Pittsburgh's offense does not lack the firepower to go toe-to-toe with the Seahawks in Week 12. But if the defense doesn't perform significantly better than it did in 2014, the Steelers will struggle to keep the Seahawks offense in check enough to win.

No matter how this game ends, it will be a tough matchup for the Steelers to take on.

Week 13: Vs. Indianapolis Colts

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Just one week after their trip to Seattle, the Steelers must head home to host the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday Night Football.

The Colts went 11-5 in 2014, largely carried by quarterback Andrew Luck and a better-than-average passing defense. Luck will still be the centerpiece of the Colts offense this year, which means the Steelers need to again ramp up their best defensive efforts in coverage.

But the Indianapolis run game should also see a boost with the addition of veteran back Frank Gore. As long as the Colts can see improvement on the offensive line, this could be one of the league's most formidable offenses this season.

The defense, too, should not be underrated. The Colts totaled 41 sacks last year and ranked 12th in passing yards allowed per game. Though the Steelers may be able to take advantage of the fact they gave up 113.4 rushing yards per game last year thanks to Le'Veon Bell's presence, that may not be enough, especially after what is guaranteed to be a physical Week 12 meeting with the Seahawks.

This Colts contest may be one of the worst-timed games of the year for the Steelers. Not only are they facing Indianapolis on the national stage a week after their trip out West, Pittsburgh travels to Cincinnati to take on the AFC North rival Bengals in Week 14.

In such a gruesome stretch during a very exhausting part of the season, stopping Luck and Co. will be a taller order than usual in Week 13.

Week 16: At Baltimore Ravens

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If the Steelers manage to weather the storm of their difficult 2015 schedule, they have one major hurdle to clear in Week 16: a Sunday night road game against the Baltimore Ravens.

This is a game that could be for all of the AFC North marbles, which ups the ante considerably. And with the Ravens boasting the best home-field advantage in American sports over the last 10 years, according to Time magazine (a 78 percent win rate), the Steelers will have their hands full.

It's nothing the Steelers are unfamiliar with, of course, but the Steelers have just five wins in Baltimore against the Ravens since 2000. Though Pittsburgh leads the rivalry with 24 wins to 18 losses, Baltimore has been a more-than-hostile environment for the Steelers.

These are two well-matched teams that may know each other better than any other pair of rivals in the NFL. In many ways, the Steelers and Ravens tailor their rosters and approaches in order to make each other's lives more difficult.

In the run game, the Steelers have Le'Veon Bell and the Ravens have Justin Forsett. Bell was the NFL's second-leading rusher in 2014, while Forsett finished fifth. The Steelers have the clear advantage in the passing game, with Ben Roethlisberger coming off of a career year and their receiving corps looking far better than Baltimore's. But Flacco, too, had career highs in passing yards and touchdowns in 2014.

Both teams have questionable secondaries; Pittsburgh's because it is so new-look, and Baltimore's because it was so injury-ravaged last year.

The Ravens have the edge in the pass rush, though, as well as in the run game, at least based on their 2014 numbers. Baltimore allowed only 3.6 rushing yards per attempt on 390 runs last year, while the Steelers allowed 4.4 yards on 368 runs. The Ravens totaled 49 sacks to Pittsburgh's 33.

No matter the outcome of this game, it will be a war for both sides. And if the division is on the line, expect the hard-hitting nature of this rivalry to be renewed.