Tomorrow night at 11.30, the Steelers’ clash with the Houston Texans will be broadcast to Irish audiences along with their clash with the Buffalo Bills on Saturday the 17th – also an 11.30 kick-off – before showcasing the team’s trip to the Detroit Lions on Saturday August 24th at 5.30pm.
The Steelers are the most interesting team to watch pre-season as they have two quarterbacks competing for the position of starter throughout these three games.
The Steelers, somewhat uncharacteristically, made the bold decision to sign both Super Bowl-winning quarterback Russell Wilson and former Chicago Bears starter Justin Fields in the off-season, and in the process they got rid of their own draft pick Kenny Pickett, clearing the way for an offensive re-shuffle.
Although Wilson is a veteran and a Super Bowl winner, two bad seasons with the Denver Broncos made his move to Pittsburgh intriguing and leaves in doubt who head coach Mike Tomlin will select as a starter when the regular season rolls around.
Fields was a starter in Chicago who built up an impressive highlight reel, but the Bears opted to get rid of him and use the first overall Draft pick to put their future hopes behind Caleb Williams. Some in Chicago would have preferred in Fields stayed, others across the league do not see him as starter material, so his performances over the next three weeks will be huge narrative-drivers about the 25-year-old’s career.
Wilson sat atop the Steelers quarterback race in the first unofficial depth chart that was released this week, and will not play in tomorrow’s preseason opener against the Houston Texans. His competition, Fields, will play in this clash for at least a couple of offensive series.
Despite Wilson sitting atop the depth chart and sitting out the preseason opener, which is common treatment across the NFL for starting quarterbacks, coach Tomlin said on Wednesday morning that the starting job is still up for grabs.
“It’s very much a competition,” Tomlin said. “What happens in stadium is weighted heavier than what happens in a practice setting, because it’s more game-line.”
Virgin Media is also set to broadcast The Mike Tomlin Show with Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin weekly throughout the 2024 season.
The Steelers’ presence in Ireland has been steadily growing since they secured NFL International Marketing rights for the island of Ireland last year.
Dan Rooney, Director of Business Development and Strategy with the Pittsburgh Steelers, said: “The Steelers are excited to partner with Virgin Media Ireland to offer these Steelers pre-season games free of charge on Irish television for the first time. This is an exciting step for us, as we aim to serve our growing Steelers fan base in Ireland and promote the game of American Football to new audiences.”
