National Football League

Looking for a loser in 2015 schedule? Take a peek in Pittsburgh

Published Apr. 22, 2015 12:32 a.m. ET

Alex Marvez

The Pittsburgh Steelers didn’t need the NFL to make their 2015 season tougher than it is already.

The league did it anyway on Tuesday.

Not only does Pittsburgh have the toughest strength of schedule based on its opponents’ 2014 winning percentage (.579), but the Steelers also must travel to play New England in the NFL’s Sept. 10 opener without their star running back. That’s because Le’Veon Bell is facing a three-game suspension for violating the NFL’s substance-abuse policy back in the 2014 preseason.

The Patriots will be favored. And they will likely win, which could come back to haunt Pittsburgh at season’s end when it comes to playoff tiebreakers.

Of course, Bell is to blame for putting himself and his teammates in this unenviable position. He was the one who was arrested with then-Steelers teammate LeGarrette Blount last August during a traffic stop in Pittsburgh.

Bell was charged with DUI and marijuana possession. Although he reached a plea agreement last February that calls for a 15-month probationary period, NFL sanctions still followed.

Bell is expected to appeal the suspension. But based upon NFL precedent, there is scant chance of his punishment getting completely dismissed. A one-game reduction is the best he can hope for.

Blount didn’t get off scot-free from the league either even after his marijuana possession charge was dismissed following 50 hours of community service. Signed by the Patriots after the Steelers cut him last November, Blount finished the season with in New England and may very well be the Pats’ first-stringer in 2015. But because of the arrest, Blount, too, will be suspended for the season opener.

There is no comparison, though, when it comes to what each player means to his respective offense. The 2014 Patriots proved they can move the ball effectively with other backs or simply by non-stop passing as evidenced in the second half of their playoff win over Baltimore. There’s no reason to believe that will change with quarterback Tom Brady still at the helm.

Pittsburgh’s offense sputtered without an injured Bell (knee) in a first-round postseason loss to the Ravens — and understandably so. Bell gained a franchise-record 2,215 yards from scrimmage last season as a rusher and receiver.

Pittsburgh has far more time to formulate a game plan for Bell’s absence in Week 1 than in that playoff game against Baltimore. The Steelers also have a more credible backup now after leaving themselves exposed by waiving Blount following his unprofessional behavior against Tennessee. (Blount left the field before the end of a game against the Titans having not received a carry in the game, and was let go of the next morning.)

Pittsburgh signed DeAngelo Williams in March after Carolina released him. However, Williams isn’t the same type of run-catch threat as Bell at this point entering his 10th NFL season, so Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger will probably have to carry his unit via the passing game.

As history has proven, one-dimensional offenses usually don’t fare well against New England.

The doom-and-gloom for the Steelers doesn’t end on opening night. There’s a brutal late-season stretch that includes five consecutive matchups against 2014 playoff teams. Three are on the road (Seattle, Cincinnati and Baltimore) sandwiched around two at home (Indianapolis and Denver). Even if able to make hay during a three-game home stand against Cincinnati, Oakland and Cleveland to open November, the Steelers may very well be gassed by their Week 17 finale at the Browns.

Bell surely hopes that isn’t the case considering the early-season damage he’s causing the Steelers because of his off-field actions.

Some other thoughts on Tuesday night’s schedule release:

● Baltimore and Cincinnati were probably hoping to get a crack at the Steelers during Bell’s suspension. No dice. The Steelers play two NFC West teams (San Francisco and St. Louis) in Weeks 2 and 3. In fact, the Ravens and Bengals face their own respective challenges in the AFC North race.

Baltimore opens with five of its first seven contests on the road. Particularly rough is having two sets of long-distance back-to-back away games in Denver and Oakland (Weeks 1 and 2) and later in San Francisco and Arizona (Weeks 6 and 7). The Ravens, though, should benefit from three straight December home matchups against Seattle, Kansas City and Pittsburgh.

For the Bengals, it’s a matter of exorcising ghosts on the road. Cincinnati opens the season in Oakland … and is 1-14 all-time when facing the Raiders either in Oakland or Los Angeles, the lone win coming in 1988. The Bengals also haven’t won in San Francisco (Week 15) or Denver (Week 16) since the mid-1970s.

● One club that shouldn’t complain about scheduling? New Orleans. The Saints only have one set of back-to-back road games, and that is split by a bye in Week 11. There are no cold-weather away contests slated for December. Plus, the Saints get to host three primetime games in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, where New Orleans has won 17 of 19 such matchups since 2008.

Combined with the NFL’s fifth-easiest strength of schedule (.429) and NFC South rivals Atlanta and Tampa Bay in rebuilding mode, New Orleans is poised to rebound from last season’s disappointing 7-9 campaign.

● No team has a tougher slate in Weeks 6 through 9 than Carolina. The Panthers’ four opponents: Seattle, Philadelphia, Indianapolis and Green Bay.

● Construction at Sun Life Stadium is doing the 2015 Miami Dolphins and embattled head coach Joe Philbin no favors. The Dolphins will play eight of their first 10 games on the road. That includes a Week 4 “home” meeting against the AFC East rival New York Jets in London.

At least transplanted New York Giants fans that live in South Florida are happy. The G-Men will play their first road game at Sun Life Stadium since 1996 (!!!) in Week 14.

● Speaking of the Giants, they are the only team with a losing record in 2014 set to appear in five primetime games.

● All three Thanksgiving Day matchups — Philadelphia vs. Detroit, Carolina vs. Dallas and Chicago vs. Green Bay — exclusively feature NFC teams for the second consecutive year. Every Thanksgiving Day lineup included at least one AFC squad from the 1970s AFL-NFL merger through 2013.

● The NFL remains oblivious to the proven competitive advantage that early kickoffs provide Eastern and Central time-zone teams when hosting Pacific time-zone opponents. All six of Oakland’s Eastern and Central time-zone games are set for 1 p.m. ET kickoffs. San Francisco and San Diego each have five such matchups. Seattle has only three largely because its recent spate of success has resulted in more late afternoon and primetime kickoffs where television audiences are larger.

● Finally, the buzz surrounding Philadelphia’s wild offseason paid off in exposure. The Eagles are tied for the league lead with six nationally televised games.