What to know about Steelers ‘25 season — 29 weeks until the next time they take field

Miss the Pittsburgh Steelers yet?

Their 2024 season ended less than a week ago with a wild-card round playoff loss at the Baltimore Ravens. They’ll next take the field for a game in 29 weeks, and the next time they play a meaningful game will come 33 weeks from now.

Here’s a lookahead to the Steelers’ 2025 season:

Factoids

• The Steelers’ next season will be their 93rd since their 1933 founding, counting 1943-44 when the roster was combined with other teams during World War II. It’s the 56th NFL season since the merger with the AFL, during which the Steelers were moved into the new AFC in 1970.

• Acrisure Stadium/Heinz Field will celebrate its 25th season as home of the Steelers (and Pitt) in 2025. The Steelers never have had a losing season of games played at the North Shore facility. They went 5-3 at home last season.

• The Steelers’ streak of non-losing seasons overall extends to 2004. Just as much-discussed among fans, though, is their run of eight seasons without a playoff victory. It also will now be at least 15 years since their most recent appearance in the Super Bowl and 17 years since their most recent Super Bowl title.

Even a division title in 2025 would represent the Steelers’ first in five years. Since the merger, the Steelers have endured only one drought as long or longer without a first-place finish: 1985-91.

On the plus side, they’re one of only seven teams that has qualified for the playoffs four of the past five seasons.

When does it begin?

NFL Kickoff Weekend (everything the league does these days has a capitalized name to make it feel more like an “event”) is set for Sept. 4-8.

The annual Thursday night opener traditionally is hosted by the defending Super Bowl champions. Assuming that’s the case again in 2025, getting the national spotlight of the Sept. 4 league opener at Baltimore or the Detroit Lions is theoretically still in play.

This past season, the league for the first time in half a century had a Friday night game in Week 1. It has not announced if that will happen in 2025. Last year’s such game was in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Though there will be a Monday night game (and perhaps two), the most likely date for the Steelers’ opener is Sunday, Sept. 7. That’s about 6 ½ weeks after the team reports to Saint Vincent College for the start of training camp.

Who they’ll play

By way of the NFL’s pre-announced schedule rotation, 14 of 17 regular-season opponents are known multiple years in advance. The other three are determined by a team’s place in its divisional standings — i.e., all first-place teams will face three other first-place teams from three other predetermined divisions.

For the AFC North in 2025, those cross-division games that were not determined until the final 2024 season standings were a road game against the AFC West and home games against the AFC South and NFC West. For the second-place Steelers, that means a trip to the Los Angeles Chargers and hosting the Indianapolis Colts and Seattle Seahawks.

The full divisions all AFC North teams will face in 2025 are the AFC East and NFC North. By venue for the Steelers, the Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins, Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings are designated home games. The Steelers will travel to face the New England Patriots, New York Jets, Chicago Bears and Lions.

Of course, as always, the Steelers will have home-and-homes with the Cleveland Browns, Cincinnati Bengals and Ravens.

Overseas trip?

While in a 17-game schedule format, some teams will have nine “home” games and some eight, be careful to note that does not necessarily mean the “home” games will be at their home stadium or that “road” games will take place in the city of the opponent.

In 2024, the NFL played five games internationally. It has already announced four for 2025, with at least one more to come. Officials in Ireland anticipate it will be soon announced that the Steelers will host a game in Dublin.

What about the preseason?

Barring an appearance in the annual Hall of Fame Game in Canton, Ohio, the Steelers will join 29 of the other 31 teams in playing three preseason games. Opponents and the exact dates and times are typically announced in the spring before the regular-season schedule is released.

Games will be held over the weekends of Aug. 7-10, Aug. 14-17 and Aug. 21-24. Because the schedule rotation for the regular season in 2025 gives AFC teams nine home games, the Steelers will host just one preseason game and play the other two on the road.