NFL Schedule Maker Hints At Steelers Opponent For Ireland Game

The Pittsburgh Steelers don’t know yet what team they will face in their historic game next season at Croke Park in Dublin, Ireland.

But they may have a better idea of who their opponent will be now thanks to NFL vice president of broadcast planning Mike North, who plays a major role in the league’s scheduling.

While it was rumored that the Steelers and potential new starting quarterback Aaron Rodgers could take on the Green Bay Packers across the pond, North hinted on the “Always Gameday in Buffalo” podcast of a different team featuring a star quarterback that could travel to Ireland to take on Pittsburgh instead.

“I wouldn’t take Buffalo-Pittsburgh and Dublin completely off the table just yet,” North said, as transcribed by PennLive’s Nick Farabaugh. “But to your point, there’s a lot of other homes for a game like Buffalo-Pittsburgh, especially if Aaron Rodgers is the quarterback. You could see it Week 1 in a national window, you could see it Week 2 in the first Thursday Amazon game, you could see it on a Sunday night, a Monday night.

“You could see it on Black Friday, you could see it on Thanksgiving night, you could see it on Christmas. There’s so many different ways to deploy that asset. But I wouldn’t completely rule out Dublin. Don’t be shocked if you see a big game or two as we continue to build interest in not just internationally, but also domestically.”

The Steelers will know their opponent for the matchup abroad soon enough. The NFL regular-season schedule is set to come out in May and a premiere matchup — like the Ireland game — could be revealed even earlier, potentially after next week’s NFL draft.

According to Farabaugh, the Bills, Packers, Minnesota Vikings and Seattle Seahawks are all potential opponents for the Steelers in Ireland.

This is Pittsburgh’s first game on foreign soil since it played the Vikings in London in 2013. The contest will also mark the first NFL regular-season game in Ireland.