The Steelers 2018 schedule in quarters: The 2nd Quarter

The first quarter is behind the Steelers and they (according to me) come out of it 4-0. Can’t ask for much more than that. 2 road and 2 home victories propel them into the second quarter. On top of that, they should be 2-0 in the division, sitting atop the AFC North.

My expectations for the North would put the Steelers at 4-0, the Bengals at 1-3 (I’m giving them a home win against the Ravens and losses to the Colts, Panthers, and Falcons all on the road), the Ravens at 2-2 (Wins against Bengals and Bills and losses to the Steelers and Broncos) and the Browns at 1-3 (a win against the Jets, and losses to the Steelers, Saints and Raiders). That gives the Steelers a full two-game lead in the division.

In addition, the worst case is that the Steelers are in a tie for the conference lead. I mean, nobody can be more than 4-0 after the first four games, can they?

The second quarter also brings two home (Falcons, Browns) and two away (Bengals, Ravens) games. This is a tough stretch frankly, two AFC North road games, 3 division games, and a tough NFC South opponent.

Embed from Getty Images

Second Quarter – Falcons, @Bengals, Browns, @Ravens

The other thing to take into consideration is the bye week falls during the second quarter of the season. The Steelers bye comes in week 7, right after the Bengals game and prior to the second Browns game. It’s not the best spot for the bye, but not a bad one. It always feels better to have fewer games after the bye but at least it’s not any earlier than week 7.

Every game (as of right now) is a 1:00 pm start, so there are no short weeks to worry over. Considering all the division games jammed into this quarter it also provides the Steelers with a chance to essentially eliminate the rest of the North from contention for the division (yes, they still have to win enough games but if they end this stretch 5-0 in the division it’s a good start).

Let’s look at the second quarter.

Embed from Getty Images

Week 5 – Atlanta

This will be the first true challenge of the season for the Steelers. Atlanta was a playoff team in 2017. They were an 11-win team in 2017. The Falcons defense was a top 10 in scoring and total defense and has young, fast, athletic playmakers. They have Matt Ryan, ranked as the eighth-best quarterback on the NFL’s popularity contest (Top 100 Players). They have Julio Jones, who many consider the second-best receiver in the NFL. Add in rookie WR Calvin Ridley and the running back tandem of Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman and you have a potent offense to rival what the Black and Gold can put on the field.

This is not a team to take lightly and one that is fully capable of handing the Steelers their first loss of the season. The question is, will they.

The Steelers offense showed that it is capable of moving the ball and scoring on any defense last season, so I think it’s fair to expect the offense to be capable of doing so again this year. The defense showed it can give up points at a prodigious pace as well, but the defense is where we expect the most improvement. Haden with a full training camp, the addition of Morgan Burnett and Jon Bostic and the influx of young talent like Terrell Edmunds provides some reason for optimism.

The fact that they get the Falcons in the fifth game also helps, it will give the defense some time to settle out and find their footing. Do I expect them to shut the Falcons down? No, I don’t. The Falcons are going to score some points. However, I think that the Steelers defense should be good enough to get some stops or turnovers and provide the offense with enough opportunity to get another win.

Steelers 35 – Falcons 30

Embed from Getty Images

Week 6 – Cincinnati

To be honest, I expect the Bengals to be a mess by the time to Steelers roll into Cincinnati for the sixth week of the season. I project them to be 1-4 and looking at a complete collapse of a season. While it’s possible they could be 3-2 if they beat the Colts and the Ravens, it’s also possible they could be 0-5. To be honest, I don’t think much of this team, and I don’t think they’ve helped themselves with their drafts in the last two seasons.

Add into that the fact that the Steelers have been able to win their last 6 and 9 of the last 10 against the Bengals (including winning their last six games in Cincinnati) it’s hard to pick the Bengals in this game. With the bye week following, the Bengals should have the full attention of the Steelers and they should be able to continue their great start to the season.

Steelers 30 – Bengals 13

Embed from Getty Images

Week 7 – Bye

Everyone wins the bye week!

Embed from Getty Images

Week 8 – Cleveland

The biggest question for the week eight matchup with the Browns will be: has the Baker Mayfield era started yet? If Tyrod Taylor is still the starting quarterback it means the Browns have likely had a better than expected start to their season and could be 3- 4 (projected wins against the Jets, Ravens, and Buccaneers) coming into Pittsburgh. If they stole that first game with the Steelers in Cleveland, they could even be 4-3 (shudder, the Browns with a winning record!)

If they are any worse than that though, the Steelers may get their first glimpse of Mayfield and we’ll all get to see if the Browns have squandered another to quarterback pick or not.

My gut is this is still Tyrod’s team because I expect them to have performed well enough to let Hue Jackson feel comfortable sitting Mayfield and letting him learn.

In either case, coming off the bye week, I expect the Steelers to win another game that will be closer than expected.

Steelers 21 – Browns 17

Embed from Getty Images

Week 8 – Baltimore

The interesting thing about this Ravens matchup is that it’s possible that a quarterback change could be made in Baltimore at this point of the season, just like the Browns. Even if the Ravens end up 2-2 after the first quarter, they could conceivably go 0-4 in their next four games (Cleveland, Titans, Saints, Panthers) before they face the Steelers in Baltimore.

If that’s the case and this team is sitting at 2-6, it’s certainly possible that Lamar Jackson could be the quarterback.

Maybe.

To be fair, Jackson’s preseason debut wasn’t spectacular and showed that this is a player with a lot of work to do, rather than a quarterback ready to start in the NFL. Some Ravens talk is now wondering if they even believe Jackson is ready to be the backup, or if the Ravens should keep RG3 around to fill that role.

My guess is that no matter what the record is, it’s still Flacco’s team through 2018. If that’s the case, I see no reason to think the Steelers will lay an egg here. They should be capable of helping to escort the Ravens into the AFC North cellar.

Steelers 28 – Ravens 13

Embed from Getty Images

Conclusion

Am I being too optimistic? Maybe, but I absolutely think there is a better than even chance the Steelers can end the first half of the season a perfect 8-0. I’ll go one further and say that they should be 8-0. The only true challenge in the first half is the Falcons, and I think they can weather that particular storm.

The second half is a bit more daunting. 4 playoff teams loom ahead, and tough road games in Oakland and Denver. The Steeler really need to start strong because the front half of their schedule looks to be the softer part, and it’s a bit of a gauntlet in the second half

Next: The third quarter.


Suggested articles from our sponsors