2009 Schedule: Sneak Peak

With a week to go in the season, the Steelers schedule for 2009 is almost set. Here’s a sneak peak at what we’ll be looking at.

For those who don’t know how the schedule is made, here’s a quick breakdown:

– Home and away against all divisional opponents
– One game against all teams in one other division from your conference (2 home, 2 away)
– One game against all teams in one division from the other conference (2 home, 2 away)
– One game against teams from your conference from divisions you don’t play that finish in the same position as your team. (1 home, 1 away)

Since the Steelers played the AFC South this year, and the AFC East the year before, it is our turn to play the AFC West. In 2006 (the last time we played the AFC West), we played Kansas City and Denver at home, which means we will play them away next year.

The cycle of NFC opponents brings the Steelers to the NFC North, a slate of teams they haven’t seen since 2005. In 05, we saw Chicago and Detroit at Heinz Field, which means we’ll get to see both Aaron Rodgers and Adrian Peterson at Heinz Field next season. This also gives us the potential for a Thanksgiving Day game against Detroit.

Finally, since we won the AFC North, we get the AFC South and AFC East division champions. The last time we played the AFC West, we played our East equivalent (then Miami) at home and our South equivalent (then Jacksonville) away. It will flip for 2009 and we will see the South Champion (Tennessee) at home and the face East Champion (currently undecided, could be anyone except Buffalo) away.

So, with that in mind, here is the Steelers 2009 list of opponents:

Home Games
Baltimore
Cleveland
Cincinnati
San Diego
Oakland
Green Bay
Minnesota
Tennessee

Away Games
Baltimore
Cleveland
Cincinnati
Kansas City
Denver
Chicago
Detroit
AFC East Champion (MIA/NE/NYJ)