The Steelers will open the regular season Sept. 14 on “Monday Night Football” at the New York Giants — provided the NFL starts on time — the sixth consecutive year they will begin the season on the road.
The Steelers will play three other prime-time games in 2020, including Thanksgiving night Nov. 26 at home against the defending AFC North champion Baltimore Ravens. It is the third time in the past eight years the Steelers will play on Thanksgiving night.
“We are just humbled and honored to entertain our fans on a day like that,” coach Mike Tomlin said on NFL Network. “We’ll be excited about this one. It’s going to be a special day.”
The other prime-time matchups are Dec. 13 (Sunday night) in Buffalo and Dec. 21 (Monday night) in Cincinnati against Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Joe Burrow, the No. 1 overall pick in the draft.
The Steelers will open their home season Sept. 20 against the Denver Broncos at Heinz Field and follow that with another home game against the Houston Texans on Sept. 27. They will conclude their regular-season schedule Jan. 3 in Cleveland, the ninth time since Tomlin became coach they will end the season against the Browns.
The Steelers will also play the Browns at 1 p.m. Oct. 18 at Heinz Field. The Steelers have 11 games scheduled for 1 p.m. and play on the road in back-to-back weeks just once.
“I haven’t seen a schedule I haven’t liked,” Tomlin said. “It’s an exciting day when the schedule comes out.”
The NFL released its full 2020 regular-season and preseason schedule Thursday night amid the possibility games could be postponed, canceled or played without fans because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
If any of the games are canceled or played without spectators, team spokesman Burt Lauten said the Steelers will fully refund fans who purchased tickets through the team.
The Steelers will play four of their first six games at Heinz Field, before playing road games against the Ravens at 1 p.m. on Oct. 25 and the Dallas Cowboys at 4:25 p.m. on Nov. 8 in Arlington, Texas.
The Steelers will have their off week Nov. 1. They end the season with three of their final four games on the road.
In addition to announcing the regular-season schedule, the NFL also released a preseason schedule that begins with the Steelers and Cowboys playing in the Pro Football Hall of Fame game Thursday night Aug. 6 in Canton, Ohio. But that game, along with the other preseason games, could be in jeopardy of being played because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The other four preseason games are Week 1 (date and time to be determined) at home against Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Aug. 23 at home against the New Orleans Saints at 8 p.m. (FOX), Week 3 (date and time to be determined) at the New York Jets and Sept. 3 at the Carolina Panthers.
Gerry Dulac: gdulac@post-gazette.com and Twitter @gerrydulac
STEELERS 2020 SCHEDULE
(All times Eastern)
Sept. 14 – at NY Giants, 7:15 p.m.
Sept. 20 – Denver, 1 p.m.
Sept. 27 – Houston, 1 p.m.
Oct. 4 – at Tennessee, 1 p.m.
Oct. 11 – Philadelphia, 1 p.m.
Oct. 18 – Cleveland, 1 p.m.
Oct. 25 – at Baltimore, 1 p.m.
Nov. 1 – BYE
Nov. 8 – at Dallas, 4:25 p.m.
Nov. 15 – Cincinnati, 1 p.m.
Nov. 22 – at Jacksonville, 1 p.m.
Nov. 26 – Baltimore, 8:20 p.m.
Dec. 6 – Washington, 1 p.m.
Dec. 13 – at Buffalo, 8:20 p.m.
Dec. 21 – at Cincinnati, 8:15 p.m.
Dec. 27 – Indianapolis, 1 p.m.
Jan. 3 – at Cleveland, 1 p.m.
PRESEASON
Aug. 6 – Hall of Fame Game in Canton, Ohio vs. Dallas, 8 p.m. (WPXI)
Week 1 (date and time TBD) – Tampa Bay (KDKA)
Week 2 (Aug. 23) – New Orleans, 8 p.m. (FOX)
Week 3 (date and time TBD) – at New York Jets (KDKA)
Week 4 (Sept. 3) – at Carolina (KDKA)
First Published: May 7, 2020, 11:41 p.m.
Updated: May 8, 2020, 1:27 a.m.