Welcome to fabulous Las Vegas.
It’s not just a sign along a median on a thoroughfare through that arid Nevada city. It’s what the Pittsburgh Steelers were (figuratively) told by way of their victory in their season finale Sunday.
Based on the NFL’s predetermined schedule rotation, only three of the 17 games each team plays each season are up for grabs until the prior season’s standings are set. And the only one of those games that will be played on the road became known Sunday.
At the Las Vegas Raiders.
The Steelers never have played in Las Vegas, the town where the Raiders moved for the 2020 season. The Steelers hosted the Raiders each of the past two seasons, splitting those meetings — including a Christmas Eve 13-10 come-from-behind win two weeks ago. The Steelers’ last road game at the Raiders came in 2018 when the team was still based in Oakland.
The Steelers-Raiders 2023 matchup was cemented when the Steelers beat the Cleveland Browns, 28-14, in their regular-season finale Sunday at Acrisure Stadium. The victory allowed the Steelers to finish in third place in the AFC North, and that means the Steelers will host games against 2022 third-place teams from the NFC North and AFC East and travel to the third-place AFC West team (the Raiders).
The New England Patriots will visit Pittsburgh for the fourth time since 2017. New England beat the Steelers, 17-14, in this season’s home opener.
The final Steelers 2023 opponent was revealed after the Sunday night game between the Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions. The losing Packers finished third in the NFC North and will visit Acrisure Stadium next season.
Steelers’ 2023 opponents who long have been known are home-and-home meetings with divisional rivals Cleveland, the Cincinnati Bengals and Baltimore Ravens, home games against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Tennessee Titans, Arizona Cardinals and San Francisco 49ers and road games at the Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, Los Angeles Rams and Seattle Seahawks.
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