The Steelers get to start their 2021 season with a major AFC opponent in the Bills.
CBS announced its week one slate of games Monday morning, with the top-billed matchup for their 1 p.m. games being between the Steelers traveling to Buffalo to face the Bills on Sunday, Sept. 12:
The countdown to Week 1 is on.
— NFLonCBS (@NFLonCBS) May 12, 2021
Tonight, the full season schedule will be released at 8 pm ET on the NFL Network. pic.twitter.com/LVvzjMtTVI
The game is CBS' only matchup of two division winners in week one, and 1 of 2 matchups that showcase two playoff teams with the Browns facing the Chiefs in Kansas City with a 4:25 p.m. kickoff.
This will also be the seventh consecutive season the Steelers have opened their season on the road, with the last time they opened a season at Heinz Field coming against the Browns in 2014.
The Steelers knew they had the NFL's toughest strength of schedule and get to face one of their biggest opponents right off the bat. The Bills are coming off a 13-3 season, tying their franchise record most regular season wins (1990, 1991) and winning the AFC East for the first time since 1995.
Josh Allen has led the Bills' return to prominence as a young talented quarterback who made the Pro Bowl with 47 touchdowns and 10 interceptions in 2020. He led a Bills' passing attack that ranked third in the NFL with 288.8 yards per game.
The Bills are on a two-game win streak vs. the Steelers, beating them 26-15 at Bills Stadium, now Highmark Stadium, in 2020, and 17-10 at Heinz Field in 2019. Those two wins under head coach Sean McDermott snapped a six-game win streak the Steelers had over the Bills stretching from 2001-2016.
The Steelers still have several key matchups unscheduled against 2020 playoff opponents, including road games against the Chiefs and Packers, home games against the Seahawks and Titans, and their regular games against the Ravens and Browns.
The NFL scheduled is set to be released tonight at 8 p.m.