Yes, that’s right, a mock schedule from the guy who hates mock drafts. What about it?

Genuinely, I enjoy doing a mock schedule, and schedule release week as a whole. It gets us one step closer to football being back on our screens, and it also features my picks for every game on the 2026 slate (tune in Friday at both BTSC and SB Nation for my Steelers and league-wide record predictions). For now, here is my best estimate as to what the Steelers’ 2026 schedule will look like.

The Pirates are on the road the weekend of Week 1, so that opens the door for the Steelers to have a Week 1 home game for just the second time in the last decade (the last being in 2023 against the San Francisco 49ers). Prior to that, the last time the Steelers opened their season at home? 2014 against the Browns. Pittsburgh won on a last-second field goal by the score of 30-27 after blowing a 27-3 lead.

Don’t sleep on the Titans as a potential early-season loss. Cam Ward is on a high trajectory, and Tennessee upgraded its receiving corps tremendously this offseason.

The Texans ended the Steelers’ 2025-26 season on a Monday night in the wild card round. The NFL loves to get cheeky and have some connective dots over the course of one season to another, so I could see this game being played on Monday night early in the season – maybe even Week 1, but let’s hope not.

There’s a greater than zero chance that Kenny Pickett gets the start in this one should Bryce Young be unable to go (knock on wood that doesn’t happen, obviously not rooting for an injury).

The Steelers get the America’s Game of the Week slot on Fox to take on Philadelphia. For the Steelers’ sake, hopefully Makai Lemon doesn’t have a big performance.

We are certainly getting at least one Steelers-Ravens matchup in primetime, especially with how the last matchup between these two teams ended in Week 18.

A game-sealing interception for former Buccaneer Jamel Dean to seal the win?

If Pittsburgh can get to the bye week at 5-2, that would be a big win. 4-3 would be acceptable.

The Saints are one of my pet teams for 2026. I’ve loved their offseason additions, and Tyler Shough looked like he can be a potential franchise quarterback in the last month and a half of the 2025 season. Don’t just chalk this game up as a win.

Jim Nantz and Tony Romo will call this one in the national window for CBS. Both teams will likely be vying for playoff position.

The Steelers face the Bengals for the first time on the road in Week 11. If their offense explodes the way it did last season in Cincinnati, I like their odds of winning.

The Steelers’ defense forced six turnovers in their win over Indianapolis last season, which led to a big mid-season win. This also marks the fifth consecutive year that the two teams will square off, and they have only gone two seasons since 2014 without playing one another (2018, 2021).

Prime has seemed to put more emphasis on stronger matchups for their Thursday Night slate, and battle between two AFC teams likely battling for playoff position would fit that need.

Ian Eagle and J.J. Watt will absolutely get the call for this game on CBS.

My guess is this will be a Fox game, as the Steelers typically get at least two games on Fox per year.

The last time the Steelers and Patriots faced off on a Sunday night, Pittsburgh lost 33-3 in 2019.

Depending on the records for each team, this could end up being for the division.

The Steelers closed their season with the Ravens in 2025 and the Bengals in 2024. It appears the Browns are up for the regular season finale, meaning the Steelers bookend their campaign with Cleveland.