NFL strikes again with Hard Knocks influenced Week 18 schedule
Just when you thought the Pittsburgh Steelers would return to a normal routine and play a Sunday afternoon game, the NFL swept in once again with a twist and turn. After playing three games in eleven days, the Steelers now look at a Saturday night primetime game on ESPN against the Cincinnati Bengals to close out their 2024 regular season.
For those of us who love a good conspiracy, it’s obvious what’s transpiring. NFL decision-makers couldn’t be any more influenced as all of the wild schedule-making in the second half of Pittsburgh’s calendar reeks of influence from HBO who is producing the first-ever in-season division edition of the network’s award-winning Hard Knocks series. This year, the show expanded to cover an entire division during the season.
The network’s influence over the crazy scheduling has been obvious. For years HBO has chased the Pittsburgh Steelers for the allure of big ratings (i.e. money) and the NFL is complicit in giving their advertisers what they want. All six of the Steelers AFC North games are played from Week 11 on, the Hard Knocks series conveniently picks up right after the Cleveland Browns Thursday Night Football game, giving us a quick review before moving forward to the first episode’s coverage of the Steelers playing the Bengals in Cincinnati.
The Steelers also had to play three games in eleven days against some of the top teams in the NFL, including the Philadelphia Eagles, Baltimore Ravens, and Kansas City Chiefs. Those games were all set with their television partners in mind too, as HBO isn’t the only suitor in the NFL’s moneymaking business practices. The league created two Netflix-exclusive games for Christmas Day into the mix and double-dipping with Hard Knocks cameras on the sideline.
The Eagles game was also a boon for networks, as the game ran largely unopposed to a national audience.
Regional broadcast image courtesy of 506sports.com – Steelers coverage in RED.
The Saturday slate before Christmas was an exclusive set of games too, also featured the Ravens so the league could get as many Hard Knocks cameras rolling as possible through the holiday. Unfortunately for the Steelers, the rough scheduling caused them to sit key players and also battle through some injuries that have a longer-term impact on their shot at a division title and also success in the postseason.
The same cannot be said for the Baltimore Ravens, who completed a Week 14 bye ahead of their eleven game stretch, and got to play the previously 2-11 New York Giants before hosting the Steelers in the middle of condensed schedule. That’s a far cry playing the 11-2 Eagles or 14-1 two-time defending Super Bowl champions with little preparation or rest.
Now, the league is up to its same shenanigans for the final week of the regular season, which incidentally features all four AFC North teams playing on Saturday. Typically, the NFL would schedule games that influence one another to be played at the same time. In this case, they gave ESPN the rights to the division’s matchups and allowed HBO to get a head start on producing their finale for Tuesday.
What that means for the Steelers is another game at a non-standard time for the fourth matchup in a row. The 4:25 road trip to Philadelphia already shortened their window for a Saturday afternoon game in Baltimore, and then the quick turnaround to play on Wednesday against the Chiefs. A mini-bye was the only reward for what turned out to be a three-game losing streak that the team hopes to correct against a streaking Cincinnati squad that’s in a must-win situation to make the playoffs.
Coincidentally, the scheduling quirks also impact the Bengals, who are the only team in NFL history to play five primetime road games in a single season.
However, the Steelers may not be in the same must-win territory. With the Browns and Ravens kicking off in the earlier game on Saturday, a Ravens win means they’ll clinch the AFC North title, leaving the Steelers jockeying only for where they might play in the Wild Card round.
Pittsburgh's possible postseason opponents #wtae pic.twitter.com/Af9w0fp5de
— Andrew Stockey (@astockeyWTAE) December 30, 2024
After watching what the Cleveland Browns did on Sunday, it’s unlikely that the first scenario plays out, which means the Steelers are looking at either traveling to Houston or back to Baltimore, who conveniently plays at home this week and would have the luxury of back-to-back home games, should they win the division.
The Texans appear to be the easier prey at this time, going 3-5 over their last eight games. They play at Tennessee on Sunday but would host a Wild Card game as winners of the AFC South.
Otherwise, the Steelers see themselves having to travel back to Baltimore to face a familiar foe. In the middle match of their eleven game span, the Steelers had five starters sidelined along with T.J. Watt playing injured, as the Ravens carved up their rival to the tune of 34-17. Since their bye, the Ravens have scored at least 30 points in each of their three games, all victories.
That may be a bit much to overcome for an ailing Steelers team that has been in slump, unable to score at least 20 points in each of their last three while giving up at least 27 to opponents. The “get right” game would be Saturday against the Bengals, a team that started a trend of the defense bleeding yards and points in a 44-38 shootout. That game will prove no easier of an outcome as the Bengals have had to win every game to close the season since losing last at home to the Steelers.
They will still need help on Sunday with losses by the Denver Broncos and Miami Dolphins to keep their playoff hopes alive, but for all intents and purposes, Saturday’s game is a must-win playoff situation for Cincinnati. As such, the Steelers postseason also begins this weekend as they’ll be up against a foe who is unlikely to step off of the gas pedal and will be prepared to do anything to win.
Sounds a lot like an HBO drama, doesn’t it? Thank you NFL!
