After weeks of unofficial confirmation, the NFL officially announced the Pittsburgh Steelers would host a regular season game in Ireland during the 2025 season. But the league’s press release didn’t disclose an opponent or week. According to a new report, the Steelers will host the Green Bay Packers in Dublin Sept. 28.
Packers’ radio personality Ben Brust shared the news on Twitter/X minutes last night.
Keep in mind this report hasn’t officially been confirmed, though the Packers have been a previously rumored opponent. The league also didn’t disclose who the team will play, saying multiple teams are showing interest
But if it is Green Bay, it would make back-to-back seasons the Packers played outside the United States after playing in the NFL’s first Brazil game in Week 1 of the 2024 season.
It’s worth noting international September games are relatively uncommon. Besides the Eagles-Packers game, played on a Friday that had to happen at the beginning of the season, the previous September game occurred in 2017 between the Baltimore Ravens and Jacksonville Jaguars in London. Typically, these games occur in October.
No matter when it occurs, this will be the Steelers first international game since since 2013 when Pittsburgh fell to the Minnesota Vikings in London (which was, to be fair, held in late September). It also won’t be the organization’s first time playing in Dublin, holding a preseason game there in 1997 against the Chicago Bears. This will be the NFL’s first regular season contest.
A Steelers versus Packers matchup would embrace football history with Pittsburgh and Green Bay among the league’s oldest franchises. The Packers were founded in 1921, one year after the NFL formed, while the Steelers debuted in 1933.
The NFL will release its official schedule in May, the latest we’ll know exactly when or who Pittsburgh will be playing. But signs point to an early-season contest against Green Bay and likely will give the Steelers an early-season bye week. In 2013, they had a Week 5 bye after playing their Week 4 contest against the Vikings.