The Pittsburgh Steelers hired Mike McCarthy as their new head coach in late January, but several weeks earlier, we learned the full list of opponents this team would face in the 2026 season. Now that the 2026 NFL schedule has officially dropped, we've got a visual of the season as a whole... and it's chaotic.
Based on 2025 opponent win percentages, the Steelers have just the 19th-hardest strength of schedule this season. This is despite Pittsburgh having a first-place schedule due to winning the AFC North, as the Steelers are set to play the Patriots, Broncos, and Eagles as their extra games this season.
But from start to finish, the Pittsburgh Steelers' 2026 full schedule looks like a rollercoaster ride for McCarthy's first season as head coach.
The Pittsburgh Steelers' full 2026 regular-season schedule:
WEEK | HOME | AWAY | DATE | KICKOFF | TV/STREAM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Steelers | Falcons | Sep. 13 | 1 pm ET | |
2 | Patriots | Steelers | Sep. 20 | 1 pm ET | |
3 | Steelers | Bengals | Sep. 27 | 1 pm ET | |
4 | Browns | Steelers | Oct. 1 | 8:15 pm ET | Prime |
5 | Steelers | Colts | Oct. 11 | 1 pm ET | |
6 | Buccaneers | Steelers | Oct. 18 | 1 pm ET | |
7 | Saints | Steelers | Oct. 25 | 9:30 am ET | |
8 | Steelers | Browns | Nov. 1 | 1 pm ET | |
9 | BYE | ||||
10 | Bengals | Steelers | Nov. 15 | 8:20 pm ET | NBC |
11 | Eagles | Steelers | Nov. 22 | 4:25 pm ET | |
12 | Steelers | Broncos | Nov. 27 | 3 pm ET | Prime |
13 | Steelers | Texans | Dec. 6 | 8:20 pm ET | NBC |
14 | Jaguars | Steelers | Dec. 14 | 8:15 pm ET | ESPN |
15 | Steelers | Ravens | Dec. 20 | 1 pm ET | |
16 | Steelers | Panthers | TBD | TBD | |
17 | Titans | Steelers | Jan. 3 | 1 pm ET | |
18 | Ravens | Steelers | TBD | TBD |
Pittsburgh gets a favorable matchup against the Atlanta Falcons to begin the season. The Steelers are 7-0-1 all-time at home against the Falcons, and getting them in Week 1 should give McCarthy's team a great shot of starting the season out 1-0.
However, the opponent quality ramps up quickly.
In Week 2, the Steelers will be on the road at Gillette Stadium to face the AFC Champion New England Patriots. Oddly enough, Pittsburgh was one of just three teams to take down the Patriots last year (they were 14-3 in 2025), but this contest came in Week 3, and it required a whopping five takeaways to ultimately win by one score. New England is going to be out for revenge this time around.
Speaking of revenge, newcomer Michael Pittman Jr. will get a chance to stick it to his former team in Week 5, as the Steelers will host the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, October 11. Pittman, the 34th overall draft pick of the Colts in 2020, was basically handed to the Steelers for nothing this offseason, as Indianapolis handed fellow wideout Alec Pierce a $114 million contract at the start of free agency.
In Week 7, the Steelers will make history with the New Orleans Saints, as they will be the first NFL teams to play a game in Paris, France. This is part of the NFL's international games. New Orleans—a city with strong French roots—will be the home team for this overseas contest. For American fans in the Eastern Time zone, this game will have a 9:30 am kickoff.
A few weeks later, the Steelers will travel to Cincinnati to face quarterback Joe Burrow and the Bengals on Sunday Night Football in Week 10. Burrow, who missed half of the 2025 season with a Grade 3 turf toe injury, was absent for both games against Pittsburgh last year. Now all eyes will be on this national game between AFC North rivals in November.
Though McCarthy's team won't play on Thanksgiving this year, the Steelers are scheduled to play one day later on Black Friday. Pittsburgh will host the Denver Broncos (who finished 14-3 in 2025) for a 3 pm ET kickoff on the nation's biggest shopping day of the year.
The Steelers will get their ultimate revenge shot in primetime in Week 13, as they will host the Houston Texans under the lights at Acrisure Stadium for Sunday Night Football. This is nearly identical to the setting in which Pittsburgh suffered a 30-6 humiliating defeat last year in the Wild Card round.
In Week 14, Pittsburgh will travel to Jacksonville for a Monday Night Football showdown on December 14. The Jaguars closed out the 2025 regular season winning eight straight games before losing to the Buffalo Bills by a field goal in the Wild Card round of the playoffs.
Both of Pittsburgh's contests against the Baltimore Ravens will come in the final four games of the season, including the season finale on the road in Week 18. This is similar to 2025, when the two Steelers-Ravens matchups were in the final five weeks of the regular season.
Thankfully, the Steelers get a Week 9 bye this year—smack dab in the middle of the season. Last year, their early Week 5 bye had the players completely gassed by the end of the season.
All in all, it feels like fans will ride the waves of the highs and lows with this Pittsburgh Steelers' 2026 schedule that consists of stud-and-dud opponents.
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