12 intriguing facts about the Steelers’ 2019 regular season schedule

Now that the 2019 NFL schedule has been released, here are 12 interesting facts pertaining to the Steeler’s schedule:

The Steelers are opening up the 2019 NFL season for the fifth consecutive year on the road. It is the longest active streak in the NFL and is the longest streak in Steelers franchise history.

The Steelers are 17–2 in week 17 games dating back to 2000. Their only two losses were when they played in Baltimore. The Steelers close out the season in Baltimore in 2019.

The last time the Steelers played the Ravens at 1 PM in both regular season matchup‘s was 2006. If neither game gets flexed, the Steelers and Ravens will meet at 1 PM both on October 6 and December 29. The last time the two teams met at 1 PM for both games following a season where they finished in the top two spots of the division was 2002 after finishing first and second in the AFC Central in 2001.

The only time Ben Roethlisberger has won a game in the western time zone was in Week 5 of 2005 against the San Diego Chargers. The Steelers travel to the West Coast in Week 3 at San Francisco and Week 6 at the Los Angeles Chargers.

The Steelers have played their last six consecutive Monday Night Football games on the road. In 2019, the Steelers have two Monday Night games at Heinz Field. The last time they hosted two games on Monday night in the same season was in 2007 when they defeated both the Miami Dolphins and Baltimore Ravens on Monday Night in the month of November 21 days apart.

The Steelers have only played a Monday Night game following their bye week three times in franchise history: 2009, 2005, and 1997. The Steelers have never played a home Monday Night game following their bye week.

The Steelers only play one game in 2019 against an opponent who is coming off their bye: the Los Angeles Rams at Heinz Field on November 10. The Steelers are 14–12 all time against teams coming off there bye, and 7-3 at home (4-1 specifically at Heinz Field).

The Steelers are 2–1 against the Cleveland Browns in Thursday night games, but their loss was the only time the game was played in Cleveland (2009). 2019 will be the first time ever that teams meet on a Thursday not during Week 14.

The Steelers finish out the regular season in 2019 with back-to-back road games. Since the NFL expanded the regular season to 16 games, the Steelers have only finished on the road their final two games three times: 2015, 2007, and 1997. In all three occasions, the Steelers went 1–1.

The last time the Steelers played three consecutive home games in the regular season was 2015. The last time the Steelers played three consecutive home games at three different times of the day (early afternoon, late afternoon, and night) was 2010. The Steelers have a three-game home streak in 2019 beginning with a Monday night game against Miami on October 28 followed by a 1 PM game against the Colts on November 3 and a 4:25 PM game against the Los Angeles Rams on November 10.

In 2019, the Steelers are scheduled to play the Cleveland Browns in Week 11 and Week 13. The last time the Steelers played a team twice within three NFL weeks during the regular season was 1998 against the Tennessee Oilers.

The Steelers are 7–1 all time against NFC West opponents at Heinz Field, winning their last seven games in a row. Their only loss was in 2003 to the St. Louis Rams. They have also never hosted an NFC West opponent at Heinz Field in a game played other than at 1 PM. The Steelers host the Los Angeles Rams at 4:25 PM on November 10.