We’re all anxiously awaiting the NFL’s announcement of the new date for Steelers-Titans, but it’s looking more and more like it will be Week 8 (originally-scheduled bye week). I just don’t know how else they could maneuver it.
If word does come down that the Steelers will have their bye week rescheduled to Week 4, it certainly does throw a wrench in all of the planning the organization has done. Publicly, you’ll hear no excuses from head coach Mike Tomlin about the timing.
Sure, bye weeks start in earnest next week anyway. But you’d have to go back to 2013 to find the last time the Steelers had this early of a bye (Week 5) scheduled.
As Ed Bouchette of The Athletic noted, this is not the first time a bye week has occurred before Week 5. And the abrupt change yielded favorable results.
Steelers had a week 3 bye in 2001, & did not play 2 straight weeks because of 9/11 postponements. They went 13-3 and hosted AFC title game https://t.co/iovQQfRRxd
— Ed Bouchette (@EdBouchette) October 1, 2020
Since Wednesday’s news of the postponement, we’ve all had a look at the schedule. For Pittsburgh, rescheduling to Week 8 means a midseason schedule that looks like this:
- Sunday, Oct. 25 @ Baltimore Ravens
- Sunday, Nov. 1 @ Tennessee Titans
- Sunday, Nov. 8 @ Dallas Cowboys
Things happen that are unfair in life, far worse than a rescheduled football game. The Steelers will forge ahead and adjust accordingly as they (usually) always do. With that being said, that is an absolutely brutal three-week schedule — let alone that each contest would be all away from the confines of home.
There are a personal side and a professional side to this: The severity of people catching the coronavirus is not to be underestimated, and we hope the team and its staff get well soon.
Professionally, however, the NFL should demand concessions be made. Not only should the Titans (and any team) be heavily fined for not practicing league-mandated protocols; therefore, causing an outbreak, but Tennessee should have to travel to Pittsburgh. It’s the least they can do.
If it was the other way around, you can bet Titans fans would be asking for the same of the Steelers.
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