The Pittsburgh Steelers got a little bit of help from James Harrison, releasing their full 2024 season schedule on Wednesday night at 8 p.m., with the All-Pro making a video appearance on the team’s social media channels.
No joke. Our 2024 schedule is here. @laurelhighlands | @jharrison9292 | : Schedule release coverage on NFLN pic.twitter.com/okiDg2L4XR
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) May 16, 2024
Here are the team’s 17 games in 18 weeks that will make up the 2024 season.
The 2024 opener in Atlanta will be the ninth time in the last 10 seasons that the Steelers have played a road game to begin their season. The aspect that makes this a newsworthy opening week for the Steelers is that newly-signed offensive coordinator Arthur Smith makes his return to Atlanta after being the Falcons’ head coach for the last three seasons.
The last time that the Steelers played against the Falcons was during the 2022 season. The Steelers managed to beat the Falcons, 19-16, behind a 17-yard receiving touchdown by Connor Heyward and four field goals by Matthew Wright.
The Steelers own an all-time record of 15-2-1 against the Falcons and have won the last four meetings.
A reunion in back-to-back weeks is in store for members of the Steelers as Russell Wilson is set to return to the Mile High City in Week 2. This will be the first time that Wilson returns to Denver and faces his former team since his drama-infested departure in 2023. Wilson was the Broncos starting quarterback for two seasons and guided them to a 11-19 record in 30 starts.
The last time that the Steelers played the Broncos was in 2021 when the Steelers beat a Teddy Bridgewater led Broncos team by the score of 27-19. In that game, Najee Harris rushed for 122 yards and a touchdown while Chase Claypool caught five passes for 130 yards and one touchdown. James Pierre grabbed a game-sealing interception on fourth-and-goal in that game, as well.
The Broncos are one of few teams in the NFL that have a decent history going head-to-head against the Steelers. All-time, the Steelers and the Broncos have played 34 times, including eight times in the playoffs, and the Broncos lead the series 20-13-1.
Jim Harbaugh will have a tough test in just his third game back in the NFL as a head coach as the Steelers are set to play their first game at Acrisure Stadium in 2024 against the Chargers. Harbaugh has a good track record as a head coach as he led the San Fransisco 49ers to a Super Bowl birth in his first stint as an NFL head coach and the Michigan Wolverines to a CFP National Championship title in 2023.
It has been three seasons since the Steelers played against the Chargers as the last time that the two teams met, the Chargers defeated the Steelers in a high-scoring showdown, 41-37. Justin Herbert out dueled Ben Roethlisberger in that game as Herbert completed 30 of 41 passes for 382 yards, three touchdowns and one interception.
Though they lost the last meeting, the Steelers have dominated the Chargers over the times as they own an all-time record of 24-11 against the Bolts.
Last year when the Steelers visited the Colts, the team was in the midst of its Mitch Trubisky experiment that ended in an 0-3 stretch. In the game, Trubisky tossed two interceptions in route to a 30-13 beatdown to Gardener Minshew and the Colts. This time around, the Colts will likely have their second-year quarterback Anthony Richardson back and healthy to play. The Steelers will bring their own new quarterback to the showdown with the Colts this year.
In the 30-13 loss, the Steelers defense allowed Minshew to toss three passing scores and the Colts’ backfield to run for 170 yards. At one point in the game, the Steelers led 13-0 before allowing 30 unanswered points. The loss was on the defense’s fault just as much as it was Trubisky’s.
Before last year’s loss, the Steelers won eight straight games against the Colts. The Steelers own an all-time record of 27-7 against the Colts including a record of 5-0 in playoff games.
The Steelers and the Cowboys are two of the NFL’s most notorious brands and when they matchup, they play like it. Over 33 all-time games, the Cowboys have won 17 games as the Steelers won 16 games. They have met in the Super Bowl three separate times with the Steelers winning two of them, Super Bowl X and Super Bowl XIII. The Cowboys defeated the Steelers in Super Bowl XXX.
The two team last met during the 2020 season when the Steelers downed the Cowboys, 24-19, to move to 8-0 on the season. The Steelers trailed 13-0 after most of the first two quarters but rallied off 10 points in the final 1:10 of the second quarter. Touchdown grabs by JuJu Smith-Schuster and Eric Efron helped secure the win for the Steelers.
The Steelers and Raiders are set for another early-season matchup after a Week 3 meeting last season. This will be the second time that the Steelers head to Las Vegas to meet the Raiders after their move from Oakland.
Last season, the Steelers defeated the Raiders behind a pair of touchdown passes from Kenny Pickett and three interceptions of Jimmy Garoppolo. Wide receiver Calvin Austin III hauled in his first NFL touchdown in that game when Pickett connected with him on a 70-yard reception in the first quarter.
Like the Cowboys and the Steelers, the Raiders and Steelers are old-time rivals with many memorable playoff meetings in the 1970s including the game with the Immaculate Reception in 1972. Overall, the Raiders have won 17 games compared to the Steelers 15 games in head-to-head showdowns.
After Aaron Rodgers signed with the Jets in 2023, he played less than a quarter before suffering a season ending injury. With Rodgers scheduled to be ready to play again, the Jets bolstered their offensive line by drafting Penn State product, Olu Fashanu.
The last time that the Steelers played the Jets, Kenny Pickett made his NFL debut as he was vaulted into the game to replace a struggling Mitch Trubisky. Pickett rushed for two touchdowns but threw three interceptions in the 24-20 loss. Jets quarterback Zach Wilson stole the show when he caught a touchdown and hit a dance in the Acrisure Stadium end zone.
The Steelers have beat up on the Jets throughout history as they have won 20 of the 27 head-to-heads between the two teams. Additionally, the Steelers won both playoff games that the two teams met in.
A week after playing the Jets on Sunday Night Football, the other team from New York travels to Pittsburgh for another primetime game. The Giants have not visited Acrisure Stadium since the 2016 season.
In 2020, the Steelers opened their season in New York against the Giants. In that game, the Steelers defeated the Giants, 26-16, as Ben Roethlisberger tossed three touchdowns including two to JuJu Smith-Schuster and Benny Snell ran for 113 yards.
Two of the NFL’s oldest franchises, the Steelers and Giants have been playing against each other since the Steelers inception in 1933. The two teams have met 78 times since then with the Steelers winning 31 times.
Week 10’s showdown between the Steelers and the Commanders will be the first meeting between the two teams since the Washington club changed their name to the Commanders. It will also be the first showdown with the Commanders since they drafted former LSU quarterback with the second overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
The last time that these two teams played, the Steelers entered the game with a perfect 12-0 record. The Washington Football team, the organization’s name at the time of the game, trailed by two touchdowns at one point but rallied to score 13 fourth-quarter points to knock off the Steelers, 23-17.
Since 2000, Pittsburgh own a 5-1 record against Washington with their lone loss coming during that COVID-infested 2020 season.
The Steelers are set to play nine games before their first AFC North divisional game of the season. The first divisional game is scheduled against the Ravens which kicks off a four game stretch of divisional games. This will also be the first time that newly-signed linebacker Patrick Queen plays against the team that drafted him.
When the Ravens came to Pittsburgh last season, the Steelers rallied to score 14 fourth-quarter points to beat the Ravens, 17-10. The game-sealing score came on a 41-yard connection from Kenny Pickett and George Pickens in which Pickens beat Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey down the sideline for the score.
The Ravens have owned the AFC North in the past few season but in that same time period, the Steelers have dominated the Ravens. Since the start of 2020, the Steelers have won seven of the last eight meetings with the Ravens including both in 2023. The Steelers lead the all-time series with the Ravens by the record of 35-25.
The second of four straight divisional games is a Thursday Night Football game in Cleveland. Last season, the Steelers and Browns split their two head-to-heads and both managed to make the playoffs. Both teams went on magical runs behind backup quarterbacks to get into the playoffs but both lost their opening round game.
Last season, the Steelers and Browns played both of their games earlier in the season. The second of the two games came as a loss for the Steelers as they were stunned by the Dorian Thompson-Robinson led Browns. In that loss, Kenny Pickett was inefficient as he passed for only 106 yards on 28 attempts. Jaylen Warren was the Steelers lone bright spot as he carried the ball nine times for 129 yards and a touchdown.
The Steelers and Browns have met a whooping 145 times throughout history as the Steelers own a 81-63-1 record against them. Since the Browns playoff win over the Steelers, Pittsburgh has won four of the last six games.
After defeating Jake Browning and the Bengals twice last season, the Steelers will have a tougher time this season as Joe Burrow is on path to be ready for the 2024 season. The Bengals won the AFC North divisional title in 2022 but fell to last place without Burrow. The two wins in 2023 helped the Steelers reach the playoffs but with the Bengals returning to form, the matchups in 2024 will be intense.
In the first game against the Bengals in 2023, the Steelers played their first game without Matt Canada as the offensive coordinator. This helped Kenny Pickett and the offense look brand new as Pickett played probably his best game as a pro. While he did not have a touchdown pass, Pickett completed 24 of his 33 passes for 278 yards. Najee Harris scored a touchdown and added 99 yards on the ground as the Steelers beat the Bengals, 16-10.
The Steelers have won three of the last four games against the Bengals and lead the all-time series 70-39 including a 2-0 record in the playoffs.
Wrapping up their four game AFC North divisional game stretch, the Steelers will host the Brown in early December. The Steelers defeated Deshaun Watson and the Browns at home last season. In that game, the Steelers defense reigned supreme as they forced four turnover, three fumbles and one interception. In the 26-22 victory, Alex Highsmith and T.J. Watt both scored defensive touchdowns.
The big storyline heading into Week 15’s road trip to Philadelphia will be Kenny Pickett. The Steelers 2022 first-round pick was shipped to the Eagles this offseason for a late round pick swap due to his unhappiness surrounding the Steelers quarterback situation. While Pickett is likely to be the backup in this game, it will still be interesting to see the reunion between Pickett and the Steelers. This game also starts a treacherous three-game stretch for the Steelers.
The last time that the Steelers played the Eagles happened to be Pickett’s fourth career start in the NFL. It did not go so well for Pickett and the Steelers as they lost 35-13. In that game, Pickett threw for 191 yards and an interception. In comparison, Jalen Hurts threw for 285 yards and four touchdowns including three to A.J. Brown.
The Eagles lead the all-time in-state rivalry with a record of 49-29-3. Since 2000, each team has won three games against each other.
The second of two games against the Ravens comes in the middle of a tough three game stretch. This game also will mark the first game back in Baltimore for linebacker Patrick Queen so expect some fireworks from him in that game.
The Steelers beat the Ravens in the 2023 regular season finale, 17-10. A one-score game against a team littered with backups should have forecasted the Steelers playoff loss but Mason Rudolph and company pulled out the win on a rainy Saturday in Baltimore.
The Steelers will play host to the Chiefs on Christmas Day in 2024. The weird thing about this game is that Christmas Day falls on a Wednesday. For a while, the NFL stated they would not play games on Christmas Day if it fell on a Wednesday but walked back on that statement prior to this year. Now, the Steelers will play on two days of rest as a gift to everybody.
The last meeting between the Steelers and Chiefs happened to be Ben Roethlisberger’s final game in the NFL. In that game, the Steelers were demolished, 42-21, in the AFC Wild Card game. Patrick Mahomes had a field day as he threw for 404 yards and five touchdowns.
Since 2018, the Chiefs have beat the Steelers all three times that the two teams have met. The Steelers do lead the all-time series, 23-14, though.
When the Bengals came to Pittsburgh last season, the Steelers season was on the line. Needing a win, Mason Rudolph guided the team to an overwhelming 34-11 victory in front of the Acrisure Stadium faithful. With the Steelers being a borderline playoff team, this game may have a similar situation at-hand when game time rolls around.
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