(Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images)
The 2021 NFL schedule will be officially released tomorrow at 8 p.m. ET. However, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk tweeted that he'll be shocked if most of it isn't disclosed before tomorrow night at 7:45 p.m. ET when the teams are allowed to announce it.
Also, per Florio, the schedule for the first week of the 2021 NFL schedule will be released early. Florio wrote that via multiple reports and accounts, the various network partners will release their Week 1 schedules tomorrow morning.
The Steelers official Twitter account posted a question for fans today asking, "Who do you think our Week 1 opponent will be?" And as expected, with the Steelers losing to the Browns in an embarrassing fashion in the wild card game at Heinz Field last season, most fans said the Browns in the comments.
According to Danny Parkins of 670 The Score in Chicago, the Bears open their season in Los Angeles against the Rams on Sunday Night Football. So, a SNF game between the Steelers and Browns in Week 1 is out of the equation. It also means the Steelers won't play the Bears in Week 1, as Chicago is one of their opponents in 2021.
Either Sunday, Sept. 12 or Monday, Sept. 13 will be the date of the Steelers season opener this year, and looking at the Pirates' schedule they host the Nationals at 1:05 p.m. on Sept. 12 and are off the next day on Sept. 13.
So, unless the Steelers host the Browns or any other of their scheduled opponents on Monday night, they'll be on the road for the seventh consecutive year in Week 1. The reasoning for this has a lot to do with PNC Park being in close proximity to Heinz Field, and that they share parking lots for their respective venues.
The last time the Steelers had a home opener in Week 1 at Heinz Field just so happened to be against the Browns in 2014.
The Browns could possibly host the Steelers on the banks of Lake Erie on Monday night in Week 1, as well. The last time the Steelers and Browns played each other in Week 1 was in 2018 in Cleveland.
The Steelers will play the Ravens, Browns, Bengals, Broncos, Bears, Lions, Raiders, Titans and Seahawks at home in 2021. On the road, they will play the Ravens, Bengals, Browns, Chiefs, Packers, Vikings, Chargers and Bills.