NFL Gave Steelers Major Advantage With 2026 Travel Schedule

Even before the NFL releases its full schedule for the 2026 season, the Pittsburgh Steelers are winners based on their travel schedule alone.

According to research from Bookies analyst Bill Speros, the Steelers are projected to travel the seventh-fewest miles this year with a total of 14,183.

Pittsburgh's trip to Paris for a Week 7 bout with the New Orleans Saints is doing a lot of the heavy lifting with that figure too, meaning the team will otherwise be working at an advantage as compared to its companions across the league.

Nov 16, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; A Pittsburgh Steelers helmet before a game against the Cincinnati Bengals at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Barry Reeger-Imagn Images | Barry Reeger-Imagn Images

Steelers' Treks in 2026

Beyond their excursion to France, Pittsburgh will not venture far from its home base throughout the 2026 campaign.

In fact, the only time the Steelers will play a road game that's not in the Eastern Time Zone is against the Tennessee Titans, who are entering into their inaugural season at the new Nissan Stadium.

Otherwise, Pittsburgh has its usual three-game AFC North road slate vs. the Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals and Baltimore Ravens in addition to other in-conference bouts at the Jacksonville Jaguars and New England Patriots.

The Steelers will also travel cross-state to take on the Philadelphia Eagles and head down to Florida for a matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Pittsburgh Steelers HC Mike McCarthy — Pittsburgh Steelers

Pittsburgh's Strength of Schedule

Per the NFL, Pittsburgh has the 19th-hardest strength of schedule in 2026 based on the collective win percentage of its opponents from last season, which comes in at .495.

That number is propped up quite heavily by the Denver Broncos and Patriots, both of whom went 14-3 during the regular season, while the latter represented the AFC in Super Bowl LX.

The Steelers have four other playoff teams from 2025 on their itinerary in the Jaguars (13-4), Houston Texans (12-5), Eagles (11-6) and Carolina Panthers (8-9).

Pittsburgh's games against that group of teams is split evenly between home (Broncos, Texans, Panthers) and road contests (Jaguars, Patriots, Eagles) at three and three, so it won't get any inherent advantage against its stiffest competition in that regard.

For a squad that is coming off an AFC North-winning season at 10-7, though, the Steelers ranking in the back half of the NFL for strength of schedule feels like a pretty major victory.

They still have to figure out when, or if, Aaron Rodgers is re-signing in order to put a bow on their offseason, but there multiple reasons to feel optimistic about Pittsburgh's chances of returning to the postseason in 2026 based on how its schedule has shook out alone.

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