Steelers 2024 schedule features brutal stretch in second half

The Steelers will open the season at the Falcons and welcome Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs to Pittsburgh on Christmas Day, as one of the marquee matchups in a brutal late-season slate of games.

Arthur Smith will face the team that fired him in January when the Steelers travel to Atlanta for a 1 p.m. matchup on Sept. 8. Mike Tomlin will be going against one of his closest friends, Raheem Morris, who was hired to replace Smith earlier this year. The game will also feature a showdown between the two biggest names on the quarterback market this offseason with Russell Wilson and Kirk Cousins playing their first games with their new teams. 

If Smith's revenge game is in Week 1, Wilson's comes a week later when the Steelers head west to Denver to face the Broncos and Sean Payton. It's no secret Wilson and Payton butted heads last season, so Wilson should be plenty motivated going against his old coach and rookie quarterback Bo Nix. 

The Steelers first home game doesn't come until Week 3, when Jim Harbaugh and Justin Herbert come to town. The Cowboys and coach Mike McCarthy, a Greenfield native, will visit the 'Burgh in a Sunday Night game on Oct. 6, the first of four primetime contests for the Steelers this year. They'll host the Jets and Giants in primetime in back-to-back weeks in late October, before their bye week in Week 9. 

Following the bye, the Steelers head to Washington to face reigning Heisman winner Jayden Daniels and the Commanders before returning home to host their first division game of the season in Week 11 against the Ravens. The Steelers will play four straight AFC North games, including two contests against the Browns, before traversing the state to play the Eagles on Dec. 15. Then a Saturday contest against the Ravens in Baltimore before returning home to ring in Christmas Day with the likes of Mahomes, Andy Reid and Travis Kelce. Maybe Taylor Swift will even make a holiday appearance in the Steel City. 

The Steelers will finish the season at home against Joe Burrow and the Bengals. 

Playing six division games in the final eight weeks of the season is a weird scheduling quirk that will certainly make or break the season for the Steelers. The good news is perhaps the late start to AFC North play will give Smith, Wilson, and the young offensive linemen some time to work out any kinks that may come with installing a new offense, having a new quarterback and starting as many as three offensive linemen.

Art Rooney II shared his views of the challenging schedule on the team's website: