With the fanfare befitting the modern NFL’s marketing behemoth, the 2025 schedule is out. The scheduled dates and times for 17 Pittsburgh Steelers games — eight at home, eight on the road and one at a neutral site — have been released.

Predictions for winners in each can be found via a simple Google search. So in lieu of that, here is one self-proclaimed soothsayer’s prognostications for what will be the talk-show and Internet-driven narrative leading into each of the 18 weeks of the Steelers’ season:

Week 1: at New York Jets

Sunday, Sept. 7, 1 p.m.

Tidbit: The Steelers have won four of their past five season openers, and they have won the past five that came away from Acrisure Stadium.

Predicted pregame storyline: Justin Fields expresses regret that Mike Tomlin did not give him more of a chance to hold onto the starting job last season with the Steelers.

Week 2: vs. Seattle Seahawks

Sunday, Sept. 14, 1 p.m.

Tidbit: The scheduling quirk via the 17th regular-season game added four years ago has now twice delivered a Seattle-at-Pittsburgh matchup, meaning this is the NFC Seahawks’ third game at Acrisure over a span of less than six calendar years.

Predicted pregame storyline: Will Sam Darnold make the Steelers regret not pursuing him in free agency over the offseason?

Week 3: at New England Patriots

Sunday, Sept. 21, 1 p.m.

Tidbit: The Steelers have won in Foxborough only once since 1997 and have lost eight of their past nine (including playoffs) to the Patriots overall.

Predicted pregame storyline: Who will come out on top in the matchup of the NFL’s two leading rookie rushers — Kaleb Johnson and TreVeyon Henderson?

Week 4: vs Minnesota Vikings

Sunday, Sept. 28, 9:30 a.m. (Dublin, Ireland)

Tidbit: Over the past seven seasons, each team has one division title, four second-place finishes and two third-place finishes in its respective division.

Predicted pregame storyline: In the wake of an interview with Aaron Rodgers that involves geopolitical discussion, some in Irish media call for fans to boo the Steelers at Croke Park Stadium.

Week 5: Bye week

Tidbit: This is the 14th time over the 37 seasons since idle weeks were inserted into the NFL schedule that the Steelers are off this early in a season.

Predicted storyline: Twelve years earlier this week, the Steelers returned home from the British Isles reeling after a loss to the Vikings. Can Tomlin & Co. once again turn around their season like they did in 2013 under similar circumstances?

Week 6: vs Cleveland Browns

Sunday, Oct. 12, 1 p.m.

Tidbit: The Steelers are 14-4 under Tomlin in the game immediately following their bye.

Predicted pregame storyline: After T.J. Watt six weeks prior matched him in becoming the co-highest paid NFL defensive player, will Myles Garrett start a war or words and declare himself the NFL’s best pass rusher ahead of their team’s first meeting since?

Week 7: at Cincinnati Bengals

Thursday, Oct. 16, 8:15 p.m.

Tidbit: This is only the second time since 2013 that the Steelers’ annual game in Cincinnati will be played prior to Week 11.

Predicted pregame storyline: Can the Steelers reverse the trend of losing six of their past seven games played on three days rest?

Week 8: vs Green Bay Packers

Sunday, Oct. 26, 8:20 p.m.

Tidbit: For the second consecutive year, the Steelers have a stretch that begins in October of three of four games that are set for night kickoffs.

Predicted pregame storyline: Will Aaron Rodgers recover from injury quickly enough to face his longtime former team — or will Mason Rudolph get his first start of the season?

Week 9: vs Indianapolis Colts

Sunday, Nov. 2, 1 p.m.

Tidbit: After the teams played three consecutive seasons at Lucas Oil Stadium, the Steelers and Colts meet for a fourth straight season and sixth time in a span of less than six calendar years.

Predicted pregame storyline: While the offseason focus on improving the run defense has helped, the Steelers face their toughest test yet in AFC rushing leader Jonathan Taylor.

Week 10: at Los Angeles Chargers

Sunday, Nov. 9, 8:20 p.m.

Tidbit: It was four years ago when on a Sunday night in SoFi Stadium against the Chargers the Steelers scored 37 offensive points in a 41-37 loss. They haven’t topped that figure in any of their 59 games since.

Predicted pregame storyline: Can the new trade-deadline acquisitions assimilate quickly into the Steelers and make an immediate impact?

Week 11: vs. Cincinnati Bengals

Sunday, Nov. 16, 1 p.m.

Tidbit: The Bengals have won three of their past four at what is now called Acrisure Stadium after the Steelers had won seven of the previous eight meetings between the teams there.

Predicted pregame storyline: Can the Steelers establish themselves in the thick of the AFC North race, or will they fall multiple games behind the Bengals and Baltimore Ravens?

Week 12: at Chicago Bears

Sunday, Nov. 23, 1 p.m.

Tidbit: Until a defeat at Philadelphia this past December, the Steelers had a six-game road winning streak against NFC opponents.

Predicted pregame storyline: For the first time since 2009, while playing a game in Chicago the Steelers will en masse stand for the national anthem and avoid any accompanying controversy.

Week 13: vs. Buffalo Bills

Sunday, Nov. 30, 4:25 p.m.

Tidbit: In a scheduling quirk, this is only the fourth regular-season game the Bills will play in Pittsburgh over the past 30 years.

Predicted pregame storyline: Are the powerful Bills the perfect foil to ignite a late-season three-game Steelers losing streak for the sixth time over the past eight years?

Week 14: at Baltimore Ravens

Sunday, Dec. 7, 1 p.m.

Tidbit: Even though it’s into December, this will be the earliest the Steelers play their annual game at the Ravens since 2020. That was also the most recent time the Steelers’ final regular-season road game of a season was not in Baltimore.

Predicted pregame storyline: Can the Steelers maybe this time hold the Ravens to fewer than, say, 299 rushing yards?

Week 15: vs. Miami Dolphins

Monday, Dec. 15, 8:15 p.m.

Tidbit: Over a four-season span, this will be the ninth of Miami’s 10 post-Thanksgiving outdoor games at a cold-weather opponent. They’ve lost five of their past seven such games.

Predicted pregame storyline: With the Dolphins’ season spiraling, prevailing scuttlebutt speculates: could the Steelers and Dolphins, in effect, “trade” over the offseason with Arthur Smith becoming Miami’s 2026 head coach and Mike McDaniel be his replacement as Steelers’ offensive coordinator?

Week 16: at Detroit Lions

Sunday, Dec. 21, 4:25 p.m.

Tidbit: Since 1962, the Steelers have lost only two of 16 meetings with the Lions.

Predicted pregame storyline: With the 20th anniversary of the Steelers’ Super Bowl XL triumph at Ford Field just six weeks away, Gladys Bettis again hosts the team for a meal.

Week 17: at Cleveland Browns

Sunday, Dec. 28, 1 p.m.

Tidbit: Only once since 1990 have the Browns finished ahead of the Steelers in the standings.

Predicted pregame storyline: For the first time, QB Kenny Pickett faces the team that drafted him the first round just four years ago.

Week 18: vs. Baltimore Ravens

TBA, Jan. 3-4, 2026

Tidbit: The Steelers end their regular season with a game against Baltimore for the fourth time in seven seasons — but for the first time since 2002 the teams will play a finale in Pittsburgh. Five of the six prior regular-season finales between the Steelers and Ravens have been played at M&T Bank Stadium.

Predicted pregame storyline: The stakes are high – the Ravens clinch AFC North with a win, and the Steelers face a win-and-in playoff scenario.

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