Report: Steelers begin 2024 season on the road against Falcons

The Pittsburgh Steelers are expected to begin their 2024 season on the road against the Atlanta Falcons, sources tell WSB-TV’s Zach Klein, an Atlanta reporter.

This follows rumors and speculation from Pittsburgh. 93.7 The fans NFL Network’s Andrew Fillipponi and Brian Baldinger, who heard this would be the Steelers’ week one billing.

This would create a “revenge” game not for QB Russell Wilson, who won’t face his former team the Denver Broncos from the start, but for OC Arthur Smith. Smith served as the Falcons’ head coach from 2021-23 before being fired after last season.

Unfortunately, this would restart the Steelers’ trend of opening the season on the road, something they have done every year since 2014, with the exception of last season when they hosted and were eliminated by the San Francisco 49ers to start the year.

If true, Pittsburgh would start the year on the road against an NFC opponent for the first time since 2020 when the Steelers beat the New York Giants on Monday night. The Steelers are 3-1 in previous games like this, winning their last three games. In addition to the Giants, they beat the Washington Redskins in 2016 and the Dallas Cowboys in 1982. All of these games took place on Monday night. Their only loss came in 1971 against the Chicago Bears.

This matchup would pit two veteran quarterbacks debuting on new teams. The Steelers signed Russell Wilson to a one-year deal this offseason while the Falcons gave Kirk Cousins ​​$100 million, though they made even bigger waves by drafting quarterback Michael Penix Jr. eighth overall general. Cousins ​​is recovering from a torn Achilles tendon suffered last year, but he will likely be healthy for the start of the season. Elsewhere, the Falcons offense features a talented RB in Bijan Robinson, TE Kyle Pitts and WR Drake London. Defensively, they are led by DT Grady Jarrett, CB AJ Terrell and former Bengals safety Jessie Bates.

Atlanta finished last season 7-10, the same record they held in the previous two seasons under Smith. They haven’t made the playoffs since 2017. The Falcons are now led by Raheem Morris, who previously coached in Atlanta and someone Mike Tomlin vouched for to get another head coaching opportunity. They will now face each other to kick off the new season.

Pittsburgh played Atlanta in Week 13 of the 2022 season, defeating the Falcons 19-16. Atlanta is where Cam and Connor Heyward are from and where their father played for two seasons. It was an emotional match for Heywards. After visiting their father’s grave before the game, Connor caught his first touchdown pass, leading Cam to collapse on the sidelines. During his post-game press conference, Cam wore his father’s No. 34 jersey.

The Steelers last opened a season against the Falcons in 2010. In a home game at Heinz Field, RB Rashard Mendenhall ran for the winning score in overtime.

The NFL will release the official schedule tomorrow night, but more leaks are expected before release. No Steelers game has been confirmed, but this one seems likely. Fillipponi tweeted earlier that he learned Pittsburgh would host the Kansas City Chiefs on Christmas Day. If so, it will mean the Steelers game from the previous week will take place on Saturday, although the opponent is unknown.