Yesterday, we offered a handful of Pittsburgh Steelers 2025 [scheduling quirks to highlight](https://steelersdepot.com/2025/05/stats-of-the-weird-steelers-2025-schedule-quirks/) the official slate of games for the upcoming season. But after Thursday’s discussion with Dave Bryan on the Terrible Podcast, we brainstormed another idea and “stat of the weird” to dig into.
Over the first five weeks, the Steelers play just one “true” home game at Acrisure Stadium, Week Two against the Seattle Seahawks. The other home game takes place in Ireland. Pittsburgh is the “home” team for the Dublin contest against the Minnesota Vikings in Week Four. With a Week Five bye, the Steelers won’t play their next game in Pittsburgh until Week Six when the team hosts the Cleveland Browns.
So, it begged the question: When was the last time Pittsburgh went the first five weeks of an NFL season with just one actual home game? It’s happened before, but it’s been _a while_. The last example wasn’t created from a scheduling quirk, but national tragedy.
The last such example came in 2001. From Weeks 1-5, the Steelers played just one home game, a 16-7 Week Four win over the Cincinnati Bengals. Pittsburgh was on the road in Weeks One, Three and Five, beating the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs while losing the season opener to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
When the 2001 schedule released, Pittsburgh was slated to host the Cleveland Browns in Week 2, Sept. 16. That game never took place as intended. The Sept. 11th attacks caused the NFL to cancel its entire slate of Week Two games, tacking them onto the end of the year in Week 17. The decision and backstory was [outlined by ESPN.](https://www.espn.com/nfl/news/2001/0913/1251077.html)
_“Players were distracted. They didn’t want to fly. Some said they wouldn’t have played even if the rest of the league did._
_“‘It really came down to the loss of life and the ability of players to absorb what we’ve all been through,'” commissioner Paul Tagliabue said Thursday after calling off Week 2. ‘We felt it was right to take a week to reflect and to help or friends, families and people in the community who need our support.'”_
For the Steelers, they played the 9th and not again until Sept. 30. Without checking year-by-year game logs, it has to be the longest stretch of time the Steelers have ever gone without a game once a season had begun.
All told, Pittsburgh’s first home game at Heinz Field wouldn’t take place until Oct. 7, Week Four. They wouldn’t return there until Oct. 29, Week Seven, a 34-7 routing of the Tennessee Titans. The Steelers finished the year 13-3 and the AFC’s top seed, losing just one home game in the regular season. The New England Patriots dashed their Super Bowl hopes in the AFC Championship Game, beginning the Patriots’ dynasty.
The last intended schedule that saw the Steelers have such a start to the season occurred in 1992. That year, Pittsburgh played on the road in Week One, Week Three, Week Four and Week Six. Their only home game came in Week Two, a win over the New York Jets, and the team had a Week Five bye. They wouldn’t return home until Week Seven, a shutout victory against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Obviously, the Steelers’ 2001 schedule quirk isn’t for the same reasons in 2025. But it highlights another unusual part of its structure and look-back at history during one of the most somber years.