Steelers welcome grueling threegame stretch as proving ground

The Eagles, Ravens and Chiefs are coming up within a 12-day span.

Pear trees aren’t indigenous to the greater Philadelphia area. In lieu of a partridge awaits a flock of high-flying Eagles.

But for the Pittsburgh Steelers, a trip across the state this weekend represents the first day of a Christmas stretch that could define their season.

On Saturday, the Steelers will depart Pittsburgh a-leaping their way into a 12-day span in which there’s not a French hen in sight. Instead awaits three of the NFL’s five highest current betting-odds favorites to win the Super Bowl.

Starting with the Philadelphia Eagles (11-2) on Sunday, the Steelers six days later will play at the Baltimore Ravens (8-5) before a home matchup with the Kansas City Chiefs (12-1) on Christmas Day.

Will the Steelers respond by well, a-laying an egg? Or will they emerge pipers-piping hot into what could end up a special postseason?

This upcoming stretch should show if the Steelers are true championship contenders.

“It’s just going to show us how good we can be,” safety DeShon Elliott said after Sunday’s win against the Cleveland Browns improved the Steelers to 10-3.

“We’re going to go out here, we’re going to play those games, we’re gonna work our butts off and, hopefully, go out and be 3-0.”

Going 3-0 in this brutal stretch certainly would get the attention of the rest of the league and stamp the Steelers as legitimately Super Bowl worthy, assuming they are not that already after having won seven of their past eight games.

But as good as that is, it pales in comparison to the buzzsaw the NFL schedule- makers have mapped out for the Steelers during this holiday stretch. The Eagles have won nine in a row, and the Chiefs (dating to last season) have won 18 of the 19 meaningful games they have played since Christmas Day 2023, and that includes a win in Super Bowl LVIII in February.

To get there, the Chiefs beat the then-No. 1 seed Ravens in the AFC championship game. Baltimore still has hopes to defend its AFC North title and will be play- ing the Steelers for first place if it beats the lowly New York Giants on Sunday and the Steelers lose the same day in Philadelphia, where they have not won in almost six decades.

“This is a heavyweight matchup, so we have to go back to the drawing board and prepare,” Elliott said. “It’s not a cakewalk, especially the Philadelphia Eagles.”

The Steelers’ next three opponents are a combined 31-8. How good are they in aggregate? Not counting games against each other or the Steelers themselves, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Kansas City have combined to lose just five times all season.

“It’s a tough stretch,” receiver Calvin Austin III said, “but at the end of the day it’s a five-star matchup — as (coach Mike Tomlin) always says — because we are in it. So we know that when we go out there we’re always going to need a big-time performance because we are going to get the other teams’ best.”

When the schedule was released in May, the Steelers’ late-season gauntlet stood out. As if the back-loaded divisional play wasn’t notable enough, the only two games among the Steelers’ final eight that weren’t against AFC North rivals were the Chiefs and Eagles, two franchises that, over the past seven seasons, have combined for four Super Bowl wins, six appearances in the big game and have missed the playoffs only once.

The Steelers gamely won 10 of their first 13 leading into this sequence, insulating themselves with enough of a cushion that losing two of three — or even getting swept — won’t put much of a dent in their prospects for qualifying for the playoffs.

“We want to continue to grow and continue to push in this long stretch,” receiver Van Jefferson said after beating the Browns. “It’s a tough stretch, but, at the end of the day, you just take it one game at a time in this league. It’s hard to win, so we are going to enjoy this win and just get ready for Philly next week.”

Of course, on top of the quality of the opponents, the Steelers also must navigate playing a rare Wednesday game in addition to playing twice consecutively on short rest. According to NBC Sports, before 2024 no NFL team played three games in 11 days in any of the past five seasons.

At least the Steelers share this holiday misery with the company of the Chiefs and Ravens (and the AFC contender Houston Texans), who are on the same days’ schedule starting Sunday.

The team among that group that navigates it best could find itself best positioned to be a-swimming and a-dancing toward the gold rings awarded to the Super Bowl champion.

“Why not test ourselves out before the playoffs and get a feel for ourselves with all the playoff teams we will be playing?” tight end Pat Freiermuth said. “It will be great.

“You’ve gotta love it. If we want to win games in the playoffs, we have to start it now. And what an opportunity for us to play three bigtime games in (11) days.”