The Pittsburgh Steelers now have a clearer idea of what the 2026 season is going to look like now that Organized Team Activities (OTAs) are about to begin and the regular season schedule has been released. Pittsburgh was surprised by the fact that the team is scheduled to play overseas for the second season in a row as the Steelers will take on the New Orleans Saints in the first NFL game ever to be played in Paris, France. The Steelers were also given a standalone game on Black Friday, along with four other primetime games. The schedule is a lot to digest in the offseason, but fans and some players have already been giving their critiques.
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Steelers' new head coach Mike McCarthy looks on during voluntary veteran minicamp during the 2026 offseason.
The Steelers have had the right to complain in recent years when it comes to the NFL schedule. Back during the 2024 season, Pittsburgh was forced to play three games in 10 days, all against some of the best teams in the league. The franchise went 0-3 over that stretch. There is not any glaring mishap like that with the 2026 schedule, but there are still some things to nitpick. Captain and defensive tackle Cam Heyward hosted a live reaction show to the schedule release on Thursday night on his channel Not Just Football With Cam Heyward, and he was asked about what part of the schedule caught his eye.
"Week 3 and Week 4," Heyward said. "We play the Bengals at home, and then at night, we have the Browns on the Thursday night game. Those games are just so critical, and I think you need to have the best product on the field, and I don't think you always get that with a Thursday night game. I think we've played the Browns on Thursday night a lot, but yeah, we need to go up there and get a win."
There are a couple different factors that play into this. One is playing a division rival in the Cleveland Browns on Thursday Night Football because that means the game is taking place after a severely shortened week. Divisional games are so crucial that they should not be played in this spot. The other factor is that the game prior to that is another divisional game against the Cincinnati Bengals.
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Steelers' Cam Heyward gets ready for a play against the Cincinnati Bengals at home during the 2025 season.
Games played within the AFC North are very taxing, and playing two divisional opponents back-to-back on a normal week is hard enough. Add a Thursday Night Football game into that equation, and things get much worse. It would be one thing if the NFL evened it out in some way by making the Browns play the Baltimore Ravens in Week 3, but that is not how the schedule panned out. Cleveland will be hosting an out-of-conference game the week before as the Browns will take on the Carolina Panthers.
Things could always be worse for the Steelers. The NFL has begun to schedule divisional games as international games for the 2026 season as the San Francisco 49ers and the Los Angeles Rams will be playing each other in Australia to begin the regular season. Pittsburgh playing a game on Thursday in Cleveland doesn't seem so bad when compared to that.
Steelers Have A Nasty Streak To Snap In Week 4
Something else that is hanging over Pittsburgh's heads for this Week 4 matchup with the Browns is the fact that the Steelers have not won in Cleveland since the 2021 season. That is back when Ben Roethlisberger was still lining up under center for the Steelers.
NFL.com
Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger avoids an oncoming Cleveland Browns pass rusher to attempt a pass during the 2014 home opener in Week 1.
This is an embarrassing stat for the Steelers when considering the teams that Cleveland has rostered over the years, but it is a streak that the franchise will be looking to snap on Thursday Night Football in Week 4.
What do you think about Heyward's complaint regarding this portion of the schedule? Is it fair? Let me know on X, @brogannoey!
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