The Pittsburgh Steelers will be hoping for a much better schedule in 2025. They had an absolute gauntlet in the back half of their 2024 season, and they did not respond well to it in the slightest in the end. They dropped all three games in an 11-day stretch, with each of them being double-digit losses. Despite that, they will have one obstacle to overcome in 2025 no matter what: jet lag. For the first time since 2013, the Steelers will most likely be playing an NFL game in Europe.
There have been all kinds of rumors about the Steelers playing in Ireland, as the NFL continues to try and expand its brand across the globe. The league has recently had games in Brazil and Germany, as well as England. Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that the league will have a game in Ireland sooner rather than later, and it will be hosted by no other than the Steelers.
"The Steelers are expecting to play a regular season game in Ireland in 2025, their first international game in 12 years, according to team sources. Because the Steelers have nine home games in 2025, it is likely one of those games will be in Ireland."
It has already been confirmed that the NFL would go to Ireland at some point time, but Dulac's sources claim that it will happen in 2025, as opposed to a few years down the line. It only makes sense that the Steelers host that game, since no singular team is more closely associated with a country than Pittsburgh with Ireland: not even the Jacksonville Jaguars with England, even though they play there every year.
As Dulac also mentioned, it will most likely be a home game for the Steelers. It sucks for Steeler Nation, since it will miss out on a game at Acrisure Stadium, but it only makes sense to have that be the case. The Steelers' opponent is not confirmed yet, but that report may come out in the next couple of weeks.
Dulac also mentioned that the teams playing international games in 2024 were announced in the middle of January. If the NFL does the same thing, Steeler Nation will know for sure if this even is truly happening quickly.
"The NFL could make the announcement in the next couple weeks. This year, they announced the teams who would play international games — Chicago, Jacksonville, Minnesota and Carolina — on Jan. 11, 2024. The opponent and date would not be announced until the 2025 NFL schedule is released in the spring."
Of course, the main part of this partnership was from legendary owner Dan Rooney, who the Irish ambassador for President Barack Obama. He held that title from July 2009 to December 2012. Since then, the Steelers have been very active in the nation, which includes hosting kicker camps to give the locals a chance to play in the NFL.
Steelers Will Always Have A Strong Relationship With Ireland Thanks To Rooney
When Rooney unfortunately passed away, the Steelers honored him by wearing a patch that contained his initials in a clover, which symbolizes the nation of Ireland. Thanks to his efforts with the Steelers and with the United States, the team and the foreign country will forever be intertwined together.
Every time there's talk about finding new countries to play in, the Steelers playing in Dublin is brought up as an option. Now, it seems like the NFL has finally decided to go through with that plan. The official decision should be announced sometime soon, and the date of the game and the Steelers' opponent will be announced whenever the NFL decides to release the schedule. Get ready, Dublin. Make way for Steeler Nation.
