Baldinger: Steelers Vs. Falcons ‘Could Very Well Be’ Week 1 Matchup

The official NFL schedule release is set to drop on Wednesday evening, so we won’t have to wait very long to confirm any rumors that come in, but NFL Network’s Brian Baldinger teased a possible Pittsburgh Steelers Week 1 matchup on his The Best Football Show on Tuesday morning.

“I’m hearing that one of Sunday’s games is gonna be the Pittsburgh Steelers visiting the Atlanta Falcons,” Baldinger said in a clip of his show posted on X. “I hear it – makes sense. You got Russell Wilson, new quarterback in Pittsburgh. You got Kirk Cousins, new quarterback in Atlanta. If you’re curious about these matchups so far, I don’t know that it’s 100-percent Pittsburgh visiting Atlanta. I think it makes sense. I’m not here to give it the 100-percent stamp on it, but I’m hearing that that game could very well be played Sunday afternoon.”

Beyond the new starting quarterback matchup that Baldinger discussed, it would be Arthur Smith’s return to Atlanta after being fired following a three-year stint as the head coach. Cousins and Wilson were both linked to both the Steelers and Falcons in the month leading up to free agency as both teams were in need of a quarterback. The Steelers signed Wilson to a one-year, $1.21 million deal while the Falcons signed Cousins to a four-year, $180 million deal with $100 million in guarantees.

Four games have already been confirmed for Week 1 as various networks have teased their opening games. The Baltimore Ravens, Cleveland Browns, Dallas Cowboys, Kansas City Chiefs, New York Jets, and Philadelphia Eagles are all announced for Week 1, so you can scratch those teams off the list of possible opponents. This leaves the Cincinnati Bengals, Atlanta Falcons, Denver Broncos, Indianapolis Colts, Las Vegas Raiders, Los Angeles Chargers, New York Giants, and Washington Commanders as the remaining possibilities.

The Broncos and Falcons make the most sense from a storyline standpoint. Russell Wilson’s revenge game against the Broncos would be an intriguing Week 1 game, but the Falcons makes just as much sense for the reasons listed above.

The schedule will start to leak more heavily in the 24 hours leading up to the official release. Make sure to follow Steelers Depot on X where we track the leaks, eliminate various possibilities and ultimately narrow down the Steelers’ schedule as best as possible until the actual release.

Here are the Steelers’ most intriguing Week 1 matchup possibilities via Alex Kozora this morning.