Steelers Lose Golden Opportunity for Primetime Game in Week 1

The Pittsburgh Steelers will not open the 2026 season on NBC's Sunday Night Football.

Per an official announcement from the NFL, the Dallas Cowboys will head to MetLife Stadium and take on the New York Giants for the first rendition of SNF this upcoming campaign.

The Steelers had an intriguing case to host that contest, especially considering former head coach Mike Tomlin is set to join NBC as an analyst for their "Football Night in America" pre-game show ahead of SNF this year and thus could've been back at Acrisure Stadium for Week 1, but it wasn't meant to be.

With the reigning Super Bowl champions in the Seattle Seahawks hosting the opening game of the year on September 9 while the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams will face off in Melbourne, Australia on September 10, the only other primetime opportunity available to Pittsburgh in Week 1 is ESPN's Monday Night Football.

Apr 23, 2026; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; A general overall view of the 2026 NFL Draft at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Steelers Could Finally Host Week 1 Game This Year

Oftentimes, the Steelers have been barred from hosting Week 1 contests due to the presence of the MLB's Pittsburgh Pirates on the North Shore.

NFL VP of Broadcast Planning Mike North, who helps craft the league's schedule, admitted as much during an appearance on 93.7 The Fan last year.

"It's definitely impacted by the Pirates' schedule," North said. "Let's say we go two or three years in a row where the Pirates have a home game on the opening Sunday, and so we can't or we won't schedule a Steelers home game that weekend."

This season, however, the Pirates will be on the road in Chicago for a three-game series against the Cubs, meaning there shouldn't be any scheduling conflicts for the Steelers.

The team last hosted a Week 1 contest in 2023, with the last instance prior to that coming all the way back in 2014.

Pittsburgh's Opponents in 2026

The Steelers' home and away opponents for the 2026 campaign are as follows:

Home: Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, Denver Broncos, Houston Texans and Indianapolis Colts

Road: Ravens, Bengals, Browns, Jacksonville Jaguars, New England Patriots, New Orleans Saints, Philadelphia Eagles, Tennessee Titans and Tampa Bay Buccaneers

After having nine home games in 2025, with one of them coming overseas at Croke Park in Dublin, Ireland, Pittsburgh will have an additional road contest this year.

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