When the Lights Go On, the Steelers Are At Their Best

When the Lights Go On, the Steelers Are At Their Best
Fact Checked by Pat McLoone

The Pittsburgh Steelers are in the unfamiliar position of being the consensus pick to finish last in the AFC North in 2022, in no small part because of the retirement of likely Hall of Fame quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.

Such preseason disrespect is an uncomfortable fit for the Steelers. After all, they never even have had a losing season under current head coach Mike Tomlin, who will be leading Pittsburgh for his 16th campaign.

So, it should put a smile on the face of Steelersā€™ fans and catch the eyes of all interested in Pennsylvania sports betting that Pittsburgh has at least five prime-time games on its 17-game schedule.

You see, the Steelers have one of the NFLā€™s gaudiest prime-time records, including a 20-game home winning streak for Monday, Sunday and Thursday night games dating back to 1991, when Tomlin was still a teenager and Chuck Noll was in his final season on the sideline.

The Steelers carry that reputation into a camp where a battle to be the team's next QB of the future is taking place.

Bookmakers Public About Steelersā€™ Reputation

Talk to any bookmaker and you will hear about the NFLā€™s so-called ā€œpublic teams.ā€ 

Those are teams many average  players around country and those with Pennsylvania sports betting apps are predisposed to favoring even before taking into account the particulars of a given matchup. While the list of who are considered public teams changes a bit year-to-year, the perennial public teams are the Steelers, the Dallas Cowboys and the Green Bay Packers.

Of course, thatā€™s because those teams have legacies that resonate with fans. But then, thereā€™s also the fact that the public teams so frequently have gotten to take center stage in prime-time games over the years and have shined under the bright lights of national television.

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How the Steelers Stack Up in Prime Time

In Monday Night games since 1970 and Sunday Night games since 1978, the Steelers, Cowboys and Packers have enjoyed the most appearances among the top 10-win percentage teams.

Here is a look at the teams with the best records on Mondays and Sundays from the timeframe above:

Rank, TeamRecordPct.
šŸˆ1. Seattle Seahawks54-29-1.643
šŸˆ2. PITTSBURGH STEELERS81-50.618
šŸˆ3. Kansas City Chiefs48-33.593
šŸˆ4. San Francisco 49ers67-47.588
šŸˆ5. Green Bay Packers69-48-1.585
šŸˆ6. Tennesse Titans37-29.561
šŸˆ7. Baltimore Ravens32-26.552
šŸˆ8. New England Patriots60-49.550
šŸˆ9. New Orleans Saints47-39.547
šŸˆ10. Dallas Cowboys85-71.545

Of the three, the Steelers have the best winning percentage in Monday-Sunday games, going 81-50 (61.8%). Green Bay is 69-48-1 (58.5%) and Dallas is 85-71 (54.5%).

The only NFL team with a better win percentage than Pittsburgh in the Prime-Time Era is the Seattle Seahawks (54-29-1, 64.3%), but thatā€™s over the course of far fewer games.

In strictly Monday night games, the Steelers are a spectacular 51-25 (67.1%).

With Tomlin as coach since 2007, the Steelers are 45-25 in all prime-time games.

That record of dominance will be tested again in prime time this season, with BetMGM PA and other sportsbooks seeing them as a long shot to take the division.

Steelers in Prime Time This Season

Here are the Steelersā€™ prime-time games this season.

   
Thursday, Sept. 22at Cleveland
Sunday, Oct. 23at Miami
Sunday, Nov. 20vs. Cincinnati
Monday, Nov. 28at Indianapolis
Saturday, Dec. 24vs. LA Raiders
 

In addition to these five games, there remains a chance that Pittsburghā€™s Game 17 against the Browns on either Jan. 7 or Jan. 8 also will wind up in prime time.

Given that full menu of prime-time matchups and the Steelersā€™ track record under the lights with much of the country watching, that could bode well for where Pittsburgh finishes in the AFC North in its first season after Roethlisberger.

PennStakes.com will be there for updates on the Steelers' progress, prime-time or otherwise, as well as providing top PA sportsbook promo codes.

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Author

Bill Ordine

Bill Ordine was a reporter and editor in news and sports for the Philadelphia Inquirer and Baltimore Sun for 25 years, and was a lead reporter on a team that was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Breaking News. Bill started reporting on casinos and gaming shortly after Atlantic Cityā€™s first gambling halls opened and wrote a syndicated column on travel to casino destinations for 10 years. He covered the World Series of Poker for a decade and his articles on gaming have appeared in many major U.S. newspapers, such as the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Miami Herald and others.

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