The game in Ireland – on Sept. 28 against the Minnesota Vikings – is the crown jewel of the Steelers’ 2025 regular season schedule, and President Art Rooney II is suitably happy and excited about that. But there’s something else he noticed right away.
In 2024, the Steelers did not play their first game against an AFC North opponent until Nov. 17, which was Week 11, and at one point they had to play 4 straight games against division rivals.
“I like to have them a little more spread out than what we had last year,” said Rooney. “I thought last year was a little too much at the end of the season, and so I like the way the division games fall this year a little better.”
The way the AFC North games fall in 2025 has the Steelers playing 3 division games between Weeks 6-11 – home vs. Cleveland, at Cincinnati, home against the Bengals – with the other 3 division games falling between Weeks 14-18 – at Baltimore, at Cleveland, and then the regular season finale vs. the Ravens at Acrisure Stadium.
But all that will unfold in the second half of the season. Long before that, there is plenty of potential intrigue in September.
With the Pirates scheduled for a 1:35 p.m. home game against Milwaukee Brewers on Sunday, Sept. 7, the Steelers will open on the road that day with a 1 p.m. game against the Jets in what figures to be a matchup vs. Justin Fields, who started the first 6 games for the team in 2024.
On Sept. 14 at 1 p.m. will be the home opener against Seattle, and that’s where the Steelers’ top offseason acquisition – WR DK Metcalf – played and starred during the first 6 seasons of his NFL career. Then comes a trip to Foxborough for a 1 p.m. game vs. the New England Patriots. And then the following Sunday will be the occasion of the first NFL regular season game ever played in Ireland and the second regular season International Game in Steelers history.
“We had a little bit of input, not a lot in terms of the…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at News…