A season that is light on appearances at Acrisure Stadium in the first two months and includes a “home” game overseas before an early bye week commences for the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday when they travel to East Rutherford, N.J., to face the New York Jets.

The Steelers are hoping to match the 3-0 start they enjoyed last season under Justin Fields, who will be the opposing quarterback when the 2025 season begins. They also wouldn’t mind avoiding the five-game losing streak under Russell Wilson that resulted in another first-round playoff exit.

The Steelers play just three times on their official home surface before Halloween, although they will be the host team when they face the Minnesota Vikings on Sept. 28 at Croke Park in Dublin.

Set your clocks for 9:30 a.m. for that game, one of seven that will take place outside the traditional 1 p.m. window. The Steelers have four prime-time games and two others — in the Eastern Time Zone, no less — that start at 4:25 p.m.

Here is a look at the schedule awaiting the Steelers this season:

September

Sept. 7 at Jets

Season opens with Aaron Rodgers going back to New York and the Steelers facing former quarterback Justin Fields, who led them to a 4-2 record at the outset of the 2024 season.

Stat: Steelers are 10-5 all-time against the Jets on the road, but they have lost four of their past five at MetLife Stadium. That lone win was a 19-6 decision in 2013 that snapped an 0-4 start to the season.

Sept. 14 vs. Seahawks

No more Pete Carroll or Geno Smith or DK Metcalf, for that matter, in Seattle. Metcalf has switched sides and will face his former team that sports plenty of new faces in the home opener.

Stat: Steelers are 8-3 all-time against the Seahawks at home, with Tomlin holding a 3-1 record at Acrisure Stadium. In 2023, the Steelers blew a 10-point halftime lead but eked out a 23-20 victory in OT on a Chris Boswell field goal.

Sept. 21 at Patriots

These aren’t your father’s Patriots. Bill Belichick is gone, and Tom Brady’s days in New England are a distant memory. New coach Mike Vrabel is trying to rebuild the Pats with Drake Maye at quarterback.

Stat: Steelers haven’t played in Foxborough since the 2019 opener when the Patriots embarrassed them 33-3. They’ve gone 0-4, including playoffs, since winning there in 2008.

Sept. 28 vs. Vikings at Dublin

The last time the Steelers traveled across the pond, they also faced the Vikings. The result was a 34-27 loss at Wembley Stadium in 2013 that gave the Steelers an 0-4 record.

Stat: It has been 28 years since the Steelers played a game at Dublin’s Croke Park. That one took place in the 1997 preseason against the Bears in what was dubbed the American Bowl.

October

Oct. 12 vs. Browns

Unlike last year, divisional play begins in the first half of the season. The Browns represent the first of back-to-back games against AFC North opponents in a five-day span.

Stat: The Steelers have won eight in a row after their bye week and hold a 14-4 record in such games under coach Mike Tomlin.

Oct. 16 at Bengals

A true test for the revamped secondary as the Steelers face arguably the NFL’s top receiving tandem in Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. They combined for 11 catches and 155 yards and each scored a touchdown when the Steelers faced the Bengals last year in the jungle.

Stat: Steelers are 3-12 all-time in road Thursday night games. Since 2007, Tomlin’s inaugural season, the Steelers have won once in 10 Thursday road games, a 2016 victory at Indianapolis.

Oct. 26 vs. Packers

Rodgers’ anticipated first game against the team with which he spent his first 18 seasons gets the prime-time treatment and is the featured Sunday night showdown.

Stat: The Steelers haven’t lost at home to the Packers since 1970, Chuck Noll’s second season. They are 6-0 since in games played at Three Rivers and Acrisure stadiums. Tomlin is 3-0 against the Pack at home.

November

Nov. 2 vs. Colts

Finally, back-to-back home games for the Steelers, who have won four in a row against the Colts at Acrisure Stadium. The Steelers also get a home date with the Colts for the first time since 2020. The past three meetings have taken place at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Stat: The Steelers have five games in November, which historically has been a good month for Tomlin. His 45 wins in November are second in the NFL among active coaches, trailing only John Harbaugh’s 48.

Nov. 9 at Chargers

Najee Harris makes his return to Pittsburgh, where he had four consecutive 1,000-yard rushing seasons before exiting in free agency.

Stat: For the second year in a row, the Steelers face the other Harbaugh brother before the one they know all too well. In 2024, the Steelers got off to a 3-0 start thanks to a 20-10 victory against the Chargers at Acrisure Stadium.

Nov. 16 vs. Bengals

Joe Burrow has won his past three starts at Acrisure Stadium — and he has thrown eight touchdown passes against four interceptions in those starts. Burrow’s lone loss to the Steelers at their home venue came in 2020, his rookie season.

Stat: Rodgers had a lifetime 2-2 record against the Bengals when he played for the Packers. He is riding a two-game winning streak against Cincinnati with both victories (in 2017 and 2021) coming in overtime.

Nov. 23 at Bears

The Steelers return to the scene of the national anthem fiasco of 2017 when offensive lineman and former Army Ranger Alejandro Villanueva stood alone outside the tunnel while the rest of his teammates were sequestered inside. The Steelers also will get their first look at 2024 No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williams.

Stat: The Steelers have a 1-14 record at Soldier Field, their lone win coming in 1995. Overtime was needed before the Steelers pulled out a 37-34 victory on a Norm Johnson field goal. Erric Pegram accounted for three of the four Steelers touchdowns.

Nov. 30 vs. Bills

NFL MVP Josh Allen makes just his second career trip to Pittsburgh since being selected by the Bills in the first round of the 2018 draft. The past four matchups have taken place in Orchard Park, N.Y. Allen is 4-1, including playoffs, against the Steelers, and he has thrown 11 touchdown passes and three interceptions in those games.

Stat: The Steelers had won six in a row against the Bills at home until a 2019 meeting when “Duck” Hodges began to show his mortality. A 17-10 defeat sent the Steelers on a three-game spiral to end the season.

December

Dec. 7 at Ravens

The true test of whether the Steelers have improved their run defense will come when they face Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry for the first time since the Ravens rushed for 299 yards in a wild-card playoff matchup. Until the 2024 season, the Steelers had won six of their past seven games at M&T Bank Stadium.

Stat: John Harbaugh and Tomlin have met 38 times, second-most in NFL history behind only the 49 matchups between Curly Lambeau and George Halas. Tomlin holds a 20-18 edge in the series.

Dec. 15 vs. Dolphins

Minkah Fitzpatrick makes his return to Pittsburgh in his second go-round with the Dolphins. In nearly six full seasons with the Steelers, he was named a first-team All-Pro on three occasions and was picked for the Pro Bowl five times. In addition, the Hall of Honor class will be feted at halftime.

Stat: Tomlin has a 21-3 career record in Monday night matchups, including an 11-0 mark at Acrisure Stadium. This is the lone MNF game on the Steelers schedule in 2025.

Dec. 21 at Lions

The once-lowly Lions have compiled a winning record each of the past three seasons, culminating with a 15-2 finish in 2024. The Lions led the NFL in points scored and were second in total yardage. After being upset in the divisional round last year, the Lions won’t settle for anything less than the first Super Bowl appearance in franchise history.

Stat: The last time the Steelers lost in Detroit was the infamous 1998 Thanksgiving game/coin toss fiasco involving Jerome Bettis and referee Phil Luckett. After winning the Super Bowl at Ford Field in February 2006, the Steelers scored regular-season wins there in 2009 and 2017.

Dec. 28 at Browns

For all the revolving door of Browns quarterbacks, the Steelers are guaranteed to start a fourth passer in as many seasons in Cleveland since Ben Roethlisberger’s retirement. The Steelers are 0-3 at Huntington Bank Field since Big Ben called it a career, losing there with Mitch Trubisky, Kenny Pickett and Russell Wilson as the starters.

Stat: Will this game complete another December dive? The Steelers are 15-18 in December beginning in 2018, and they have lost three December games five times in the past seven years.

January

Jan. 4 vs. Ravens

If it’s an odd-numbered year, the Steelers must be closing the season against the Ravens. The twist this year is the game will be played in Pittsburgh. The 2019, 2021 and 2023 season-ending matchups took place at M&T Bank Stadium. It is the first time since 2002 that the Steelers will host the Ravens in the regular-season finale. In the previous game, Tommy Maddox vs. Jeff Blake was the quarterback matchup.

Stat: The Steelers have a 10-2 regular-season record in January, although one of those losses came last season against the Bengals, when the Steelers lost their final five games, including postseason.

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