(Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images)
Steelers free safety Minkah Fitzpatrick on Instagram today said "I love it" in response to the Steelers have the toughest strength of schedule in 2021. The Steelers have the toughest schedule in the league in 2021 based on their opponents' combined record of 155-115-2 (.574) in 2020. It includes 10 games against 2020 playoff teams, counting the Browns and Ravens twice.
Steelers defensive tackle Cameron Heyward and cornerback Joe Haden don't mind having the toughest schedule in the league, either. Both tweeted about the schedule following the release of the Steelers 2021 schedule last Wednesday night.
"Let's quit whining about a damn schedule and get the hell to work," Heyward tweeted.
Haden had a similar message.
"If u scared say you scared!!! I don’t give a damn who we play!!! Line it up," Haden tweeted.
The Steelers have a tough schedule in 2021 in totality, but they'll for sure be tested in December and January.
The tough stretch of games begins on Dec 5. against the Ravens, and after that, there's a meeting with the Vikings in Minnesota on a short week on Thursday Night Football. Then the final four games of the season are against teams who all made the playoffs in 2020 -- Titans, at Chiefs, Browns on Monday Night Football, and at Baltimore to finish the regular season against the Ravens.
"It's a tough closing stretch, no question about it, so we have to be ready to get on a roll at the end of the season. That's one of the challenges you just have to be ready to deal with," Steelers president Art Rooney II told Bob Labriola of Steelers.com.
The Steelers will be battle-tested in 2021 and many of the pundits have the Steelers missing the playoffs in 2021 because of the brutal schedule. However, you won't hear the Steelers complaining about having the toughest schedule in 2021. If anything, it adds more motivation to prove the doubters wrong.