(Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images)
With the Titans beating the Texans 42-45 today, the Steelers' opponents for 2021 are now set.
Including the Steelers' annual two games a year against each AFC North opponent, the Steelers play the AFC West and the NFC North in 2021. The Steelers also will play the Bills and Titans, who like the Steelers, both won their division.
The Steelers will play the Ravens, Browns, Bengals, Broncos, Bears, Lions, Raiders and Titans at home in 2021. On the road, they will play the Ravens, Bengals, Browns, Chiefs, Packers, Vikings, Chargers and Bills.
By winning the division, the Steelers will play a first-place schedule in 2021 and they'll have tough road games at Kansas City, Buffalo and Green Bay. The Ravens and Browns have both won at least 10 games this year, and the Bengals are an improving team led by Joe Burrow who will have a high draft pick in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft.
The Steelers are tied with the Colts and Cardinals with 33-1 odds to win Super Bowl LVI.
Fifteen teams have better odds than the Steelers to win next year's Super Bowl. Ahead of the Steelers are the Titans at 28-1 and behind the Steelers are the Eagles at 40-1.
The Steelers have the toughest schedule in the league in 2021 based on their opponents' combined record of 143-111-2 (.563) in 2020. It includes nine games against 2020 playoff teams, counting the Browns and Ravens twice.
Three other noteworthy things about the 2021 schedule -- the Steelers will play in Minnesota for the first time since 2005. The last time the Steelers were scheduled to be the away team against the Vikings was in 2013, but the game was played in London. The Steelers will also play the Chargers at the new SoFi Stadium in Southern California in 2021, which opened up this season. The NFL also plans to expand the regular season to 17 games per team in 2021. Each team would play an extra interconference matchup -- AFC vs. NFC -- based on divisional standings from the preceding season and on a rotating divisional basis.