The Pittsburgh Steelers don't seem to be big fans of how the NFL makes their schedules. For the third year in a row, the team has an absolutely brutal gauntlet to end the year. On top of that, the organization has yet another road divisional game on Thursday Night Football, which has felt like an automatic loss in recent years. No matter what, Pittsburgh has to play whoever it is slated to each year, but the way it happens seems to be a disadvantage regularly. If the team wants to be a true contender, it has to work with it.
Matt Freed / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Steelers General Manager Omar Khan and Owner Art Rooney II on the field at a team practices while having a discussion.
The NFL did at least grant owner Art Rooney II one wish. While explaining that in an interview with Steelers.com, he gave a jab at the league for not granting him that wish more often.
"If you have an opportunity to open at home, open the season at home, it's better," Rooney said. "So we always look forward to when we get that opportunity. It seems like we don't have that opportunity that often, so we appreciate the opportunity of doing that and opening up at home."
Rooney did not elaborate on why he prefers to have Week 1 at home in particular, but that's clearly a big desire of his. He seems to be annoyed at the fact that his team has only played in Heinz Field / Acrisure Stadium in the season opener one time since the start of the 2015 season. However, he finally got his wish, and it will be the second time that he gets it in four years. Now, the players just need to show up immediately and dominate.
AP
Steelers' Team President Art Rooney II and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell look on.
Rooney reportedly got what he wanted because of a different sport entirely. The Pittsburgh Pirates are on the road for that weekend, which means the parking lot is open and available for Steeler Nation to come in and show its love for the Steelers. The logistics of it make perfect sense, and it also explains why the football team should play on the road in Week 1 whenever its MLB counterpart is in town at PNC Park for the weekend.
With how late in the year the NFL plays, it has to base its schedule around other events that are already happening in the region. At the same time, there most likely is some communication with other leagues and event coordinators to help make sure that certain blocks are open to not put a team in a horrible situation. In the same term, the NFL likely works with the NBA and NHL to help them out logistically.
Steelers May Not Need Home-Field Advantage For Week 1
For the most part, the Steelers have done well in Week 1 on the road. In the previous 10 games of that matter, they have gone 7-2-1, with both of those losses coming against the New England Patriots. They have done an overall great job of starting the season 1-0 and getting the year started on the right foot. Typically, a team would want to begin the season at home to gain momentum, but Pittsburgh clearly doesn't have that issue.
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Steelers' star kicker Chris Boswell kicks a 60-yard field goal to help Pittsburgh take down the New York Jets in Week 1 of the 2025 season.
Meanwhile, the one home Week 1 game they had during that stretch was an embarrassment. The San Francisco 49ers clobbered the Steelers by a final score of 30-7. Nothing went right that day as the fans got a bad taste of how the rest of the season would look offensively. Meanwhile, some of the 1-0 starts were followed by bad losing streaks to put them behind the eight-ball by October.
What do you think about Rooney wanting to have Week 1 games in Pittsburgh, as well as the little jab he threw at the NFL about it? Why do you think this is a big deal for him? Let us know on X at @Steelers_ChrisB.
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