2017 Pittsburgh Steelers Schedule: Full Listing of Dates, Times and TV Info

Coming off a second division title in three years, the Pittsburgh Steelers will expect nothing less in 2017.

To a certain extent, there's also a sense of urgency for the Steelers after Ben Roethlisberger dealt with injury problems for the second year in a row. He turned 35 in March, and at a certain point, his annual flirtation with retirement will become a real possibility. 

Slowly but surely, the core of veterans responsible for two Super Bowl victories in 2005 and 2008 has either retired or joined another team—a list that includes Hines Ward, Troy Polamalu, Heath Miller and Brett Keisel.

Roethlisberger and James Harrison are among the few remaining connections to those successful Steelers teams. 

With no clear succession plan in place, losing Roethlisberger will be a particularly significant blow to Pittsburgh when he eventually decides to walk away from the game. His departure wouldn't signal a complete rebuild in the Steel City, but the franchise would likely have a lean year or two before it returned to the status it currently enjoys.

The 2017 campaign doesn't represent the end of an era for the Steelers, but their fans shouldn't take any success the team enjoys for granted. 

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Time (ET)	TV Info
1	Sunday, Sept. 10	at Cleveland Browns	1 p.m.	CBS
2	Sunday, Sept. 17	vs. Minnesota Vikings	1 p.m.	Fox
3	Sunday, Sept. 24	at Chicago Bears	1 p.m.	CBS
4	Sunday, Oct. 1	at Baltimore Ravens	1 p.m.	CBS
5	Sunday, Oct. 8	vs. Jacksonville Jaguars	1 p.m.	CBS
6	Sunday, Oct. 15	at Kansas City Chiefs	4:25 p.m.	CBS
7	Sunday, Oct. 22	vs. Cincinnati Bengals	1 p.m.	CBS
8	Sunday, Oct. 29	at Detroit Lions	8:30 p.m.	NBC
9	BYE	------	------	------
10	Sunday, Nov. 12	at Indianapolis Colts	1 p.m.	CBS
11	Thursday, Nov. 16	vs. Tennessee Titans	8:25 p.m.	NBC
12	Sunday, Nov. 26	vs. Green Bay Packers	8:30 p.m.	NBC
13	Monday, Dec. 4	at Cincinnati Bengals	8:30 p.m.	ESPN
14	Sunday, Dec. 10	vs. Baltimore Ravens	8:30 p.m.	NBC
15	Sunday, Dec. 17	vs. New England Patriots	4:25 p.m.	CBS
16	Monday, Dec. 25	at Houston Texans	4:30 p.m.	NBC
17	Sunday, Dec. 31	vs. Cleveland Browns	1 p.m.	CBS

Analysis

Patrick Smith/Getty Images

A rematch of the AFC Championship Game takes place in Week 15 when the Steelers welcome in the New England Patriots.

Pittsburgh hasn't had much luck against the reigning Super Bowl champions of late. The Patriots have won the last four meetings. Since Tom Brady replaced Drew Bledsoe as New England's starting quarterback in 2001, his team owns a 10-3 edge over the Steelers.

New England didn't rest on its laurels after beating the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl LI. The team signed Stephon Gilmore, retained Alan Branch and Dont'a Hightower, and traded for Brandin Cooks and Dwayne Allen.

NESN's Zack Cox thought the offseason was a rousing success for the Patriots:

New England will be a good measuring stick for the Steelers in 2017. 

Aside from the Patriots, the Steelers got a relatively favorable draw.

Pittsburgh plays the two weakest teams in the NFC North—the Detroit Lions and Chicago Bears—on the road, so the Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings will be coming to Heinz Field. 

A road game against the Kansas City Chiefs could be tricky, but Pittsburgh beat them twice last year and is 5-1 in their last six head-to-head games. All things considered, the Steelers would probably rather see the Chiefs on their schedule than the Oakland Raiders or Denver Broncos.

Pittsburgh is slightly unlucky in that it has to hit the road for its two toughest AFC South matchups. The Houston Texans and Indianapolis Colts should be better in 2017 as long as they don't see key players suffer injuries for a second season in a row.

Pivotal Matchups

The Patriots will likely be Pittsburgh's most highly anticipated game, and it could carry implications for the AFC playoff picture. The same goes for the Steelers' game with the Chiefs should the two teams be fighting for a wild-card berth.

If Pittsburgh can take one of those two games, then that should be considered a success.

The Steelers' dominance in the AFC North was a big reason for their 11-5 record in 2016. They went 5-1 against the division.

Repeating that mark will be difficult in 2017, but 3-3 will almost certainly be the minimum standard for the postseason cutoff. None of the 12 playoff teams last season finished below .500 in their own division.

Especially with big questions around the two teams, Pittsburgh can ill afford to drop many games against the Cleveland Browns and Cincinnati Bengals. The Browns are still rebuilding, and the Bengals' Super Bowl window may be closed.