With approval of 17th regular-season game, Steelers get home matchup against Seahawks

The implementation of a 17th NFL regular-season game became official Tuesday, which means the Pittsburgh Steelers will play a ninth home contest next season and the opponent will be the Seattle Seahawks.

The NFL schedule had enjoyed a 16-game format since 1978. The additional game will be an AFC vs. NFC matchup, with the AFC designated as getting the additional home game in 2021.

The matchups were based on how teams finished within their division in the previous season, which is why the AFC North champion Steelers will host the NFC West champion Seattle Seahawks. The Baltimore Ravens will host the Los Angeles Rams, the Cleveland Browns will host the Arizona Cardinals and the Cincinnati Bengals will host the San Francisco 49ers.

“This is a monumental moment in NFL history,” NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement. “The CBA with the players and the recently completed media agreements provide the foundation for us to enhance the quality of the NFL experience for our fans. And one of the benefits of each team playing 17 regular-season games is the ability for us to continue to grow our game around the world.”

For the Seahawks, it will be their second visit to Heinz Field in three seasons. The Steelers hosted the Seahawks in the 2019 home opener, the game in which quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was lost to a season-ending right elbow injury at halftime.

With the Steelers getting a ninth home game in the regular season, they will host just one preseason game in 2021. Teams that don’t play nine regular-season home games will get a second home preseason game, ensuring all teams will have 10 home games each year.

“I think we all will appreciate that,” Steelers president Art Rooney II said last week about teams playing one fewer preseason game. “I look forward to seeing how it does in 2021.”

The Steelers’ home schedule in 2021 consists of home games against Baltimore, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Chicago, Denver, Detroit, Las Vegas, Tennessee and Seattle. Road games will send the Steelers to Baltimore, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Buffalo, Green Bay, Kansas City, Minnesota and the Los Angeles Chargers.

The entire NFL schedule, with dates and times, will be released in April.

As part of the agreement reached Tuesday, all 32 NFL teams are ensured of playing at least one game internationally over an eight-year span that begins in 2022.