This week the NFL owners will meet, and it's expected for the league to finally add a 17th game for every team to the regular season. It's something that's been in the works for years:
NFL is expected to expand the regular season schedule this week to 17 games. The league had played a 16-game regular season schedule since 1978, by far the longest stretch without a change in NFL history.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 28, 2021
Not only does that mean more money for the NFL, but it also means a change in the scheduling formula that's been in place. Since the NFL realignment of 2002, the scheduling process has been the same. Each team played six games in their own division, eight games split between an entire AFC and NFC division, and two games against opponents in the same conference who finished with the same ranking in their own divisions.
For the 17th game, the NFL seeks to expand that last concept to include an inter-conference opponent for each NFL team, according to Peter King. That would mean AFC vs. NFC with a matchup from two years ago based on the standings.
In the Steelers' case, that's the Seahawks, since the AFC North and NFC West matched up two years ago and both the Seahawks and Steelers won their divisions in 2020. When they last played it was at Heinz Field in Sept. 2019, Ben Roethlisberger suffered the elbow injury that ended his season, Mason Rudolph made his NFL debut, and the Seahawks won 28-26.
It would give a chance for Roethlisberger to take on Russell Wilson again, two Super Bowl champion franchise quarterbacks who share in the fact that neither have ever received a single vote for NFL MVP. The only time both played a full game against each other was in a 39-30 shootout in 2015 won by the Seahawks in Seattle.
Wilson is coming off a Pro Bowl season where he finished with 4,212 passing yards, 40 passing touchdowns and only 13 interceptions. Like the Steelers with the Browns, the Seahawks had a strong year finishing 12-4, only to get bounced in the first round of the playoffs by a divisional opponent in the Rams.
That adds to an already challenging schedule for the Steelers as they're slated to take on NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Justin Herbert and the Chargers, Aaron Rodgers and the Packers, Josh Allen and the Bills, and Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs, all on the road. And that's on top of playing in an AFC North that had both the Browns and the Ravens make it to the divisional round of playoffs in 2020.
It also means no more 8-8 seasons for Mike Tomlin, who's never had a losing season in his 14 years of coaching, an NFL record tied only by Marty Schottenheimer. After finishing 12-4 in 2020, the Steelers will get to run through a gauntlet of top-tier quarterbacks young and old. That will put Tomlin's streak to the test yet again in what's expected to be his last year with Roethlisberger.
CARTER'S TAKE: The Seahawks are always dangerous with Wilson at quarterback, but they'll have plenty of holes on their roster to fill in the rest of free agency and the NFL Draft, just like the Steelers. It will make for a fun game I'm sure the NFL would love to get in a primetime slot, but also a tough one that could challenge the Steelers both offensively and defensively.
The Seahawks finished with the eighth-best scoring offense in the NFL in 2020, and 15th in scoring defense. It will take time for the new Steelers' offense to get into a rhythm with a new offensive coordinator in Matt Canada and presumed rookie additions at running back and offensive line who could see starting roles.
Getting to play the Seahawks later in the season may be something that helps the Steelers in the long run, but they could also get early season matchups with the Bills, Packers or Chiefs who all were in the conference championship round last year. Winning those games may determine whether Tomlin keeps his streak of non-losing seasons alive.
YOUR TURN: Do the Steelers stay above .500 in 2021?
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