3 games to watch in Week 2 which give perspective on the Steelers future opponents

With the Pittsburgh Steelers continuing their season on Sunday, there will still be a multitude of games going on at the same time. When the smoke clears and Steelers Nation looks to see what else has gone on around the NFL in Week 2, there are a few matchups between two teams the Steelers will face later in the season.

First off, lets check out how the three games from last week ended up. All three games came down to the wire with 4th-quarter lead changes as two went to overtime.

Minnesota Vikings (24) at Cincinnati Bengals (27)(OT)

This game was crazy throughout. Minnesota had to convert a fourth down play to set up a 53-yard field goal to end regulation and send the game to overtime. Then, on the cusp of field goal range, the Vikings fumbled the ball giving the Bengals one more chance. Going for it on fourth down in their own territory with 0:39 left, the conversion put the Bengals in field goal range for them to win as time expired. How impressive this one is for Cincinnati may be more apparent after both teams matchups in Week 2.

Cleveland Browns (29) at Kansas City Chiefs (33)

Although Cleveland led the game until halfway through the fourth quarter, they managed to Brown it up. Still with a chance to score a touchdown and win the game, Baker Mayfield did exactly what Baker Mayfield does best: throw fourth-quarter interceptions and bring down the talent around him. I still don’t get how Cleveland fans think this guy is great as they have continually surrounded him with top-notch players and yet he finds a way to lose. We’ll see if that trend continues over the next few weeks.

Baltimore Ravens (27) at Las Vegas Raiders (33)(OT)

This game could have been put away early by Baltimore but they just let the Raiders hang around and gave them life on their home field. With an absolutely crazy overtime where teams were shaking hands on the field only to have two more turnovers before it was all said and done. It’s very difficult to know if the Raiders are that good or if the Ravens are not. One thing that was apparent is the Raiders defensive front seems pretty stout.

For Week 2, here are the three games which could give the most perspective on what the Steelers can expect with some of their future opponents:

Cincinnati Bengals at Chicago Bears

Sunday at 1:00 PM on FOX

Since the Steelers play the Bengals in Week 3 and also face the Bears later in the season, this game is an obvious choice to be one of the options. As much as I’d like to see if the Bengals are for real, I’m just not certain the Bears are the opponent to get a proper gauge. But if Cincinnati can’t stick with Chicago, that would be somewhat telling.

Tennessee Titans at Seattle Seahawks

Sunday 4:25 PM on CBS

With the Steelers playing both of these teams later in the season, it will be interesting to see how they face off against each other. Tennessee did not look good in their opening game against Arizona, and Seattle had no problem handling the Colts on the road. This is a much bigger game for the Titans as falling to 0-2 will still keep them in the race in the AFC South, but will hurt their chances of finishing well within the conference.

Kansas City Chiefs at Baltimore Ravens

Sunday at 8:20 PM on NBC

The Steelers have three games in the regular season against these two opponents, but none of them occur until at least December. Even though it is a long way off, seeing how this game ultimately plays out is going to go a long way. If the Ravens start 0–2 on the season, they’ll be chasing others for a while. If the Chiefs falter, then the road to the number one seed in the AFC will not start off going through Kansas City.

So there are the three main matchups which can give Steelers fans an indication as to the quality of upcoming opponents in 2021. After not knowing what to expect for Week 1, it will be Week 2 which helps but the previous weekend in perspective.

Obviously the Steelers game itself will tell fans the most about the season. But which of these other games will be the most telling as it pertains to the 2021 Pittsburgh Steelers? Make sure you vote in the poll and give your thoughts in the comments below.