Steelers Schedule has at least 4 prime-time games

Steeler Willie Parker scores in the third quarter of Super Bowl XL on a 75-yard touchdown run.

Team will play four prime-time contests

Friday, April 07, 2006

By Ed Bouchette, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The sun might not shine as brightly on the Steelers during the 2006 season as it did on their way to the Super Bowl last season because they might play more night games than any previous time in their history.

2006 Steelers Schedule
Preseason

Aug. 12 at Arizona, 4:05 p.m.
Aug. 19 Minnesota, 8 p.m.
Aug. 25 at Philadelphia, 8 p.m.
Aug. 31 Carolina, 7:30 p.m.

Regular season

Sept. 7 Miami, 8:30 p.m.
Sept. 18 at Jacksonville, 8:30 p.m.
Sept. 24 Cincinnati, 1 p.m.
Oct. 1 Bye
Oct. 8 at San Diego, 8:15 p.m.
Oct. 15 Kansas City, 4:15 p.m.
Oct. 22 at Atlanta, 1 p.m.
Oct. 29 at Oakland, 4:15 p.m.
Nov. 5 Denver, 4:15 p.m.
Nov. 12 New Orleans, 1 p.m.
Nov. 19 at Cleveland, 1 p.m.
Nov. 26 at Baltimore, 1 p.m.
Dec. 3 Tampa Bay, 1 p.m.
Dec. 7 Cleveland, 8 p.m.
Dec. 17 at Carolina, 1 p.m.
Dec. 24 Baltimore, 1 p.m.
Dec. 31 at Cincinnati, 1 p.m.

The Steelers have a record-tying four prime-time, national television games scheduled, including their first two of the season, with the chance of having one or two more because of the NFL's new flexible schedule for Sunday night games.

The Steelers kick off the NFL schedule on a Thursday night when they play Miami Sept. 7 in Heinz Field and follow that with a Monday night game Sept. 18 at Jacksonville.

The defending Super Bowl champions also play two other night games -- Sunday Oct. 8 at San Diego and Thursday Dec. 7 at home to Cleveland. Those four games match the four they played at night last season, in 2002 and in 1993, and club president Art Rooney hopes they surpass that.

"I think the maximum that you can be on national television is six, so with four already scheduled we potentially could have two more that could be moved," Rooney said. "I would expect that we will have at least one moved."

That would depend on the Steelers being contenders again late in the season. The NFL announced Wednesday that their new flexible schedule will involve weeks 10-15 and week 17. Games now scheduled for Sunday afternoons are subject to be switched to Sunday night as the league tries to provide better matchups for what now is their premier game of the week, which will be shown on NBC.

"We don't mind playing night games," Rooney said. "I guess we would rather not play that many, but in this context, we are obviously hoping that we are in a situation where they want to be moving our games to the evening."

The first and most likely to be moved is a home contest against Denver, the Steelers opponent in the AFC championship game, that is scheduled for 4:15 p.m. Nov. 5. Another is their Dec. 31 game at Cincinnati, scheduled for 1 p.m. If the defending Super Bowl champions and the defending AFC North Division champions are still in contention for playoff spots, the end of that game could ring in the new year.

The Steelers again have an early off weekend, the fourth of the season, and play most of their warm-weather road games in the first half of the season. Five of their final seven games are against division opponents.

"It looks like they are trying to set things up so that the AFC North will go down to the wire with that last game against Cincinnati," Rooney said.

Rooney expects a large contingent of Steelers fans to follow tradition and again find their way in droves to games in opposing stadiums. Some teams have tried to thwart those fans' efforts by refusing to sell tickets to those in area codes 412 and 724 or forced fans to buy tickets to one or two other games if they wanted to buy them for their game against the Steelers. Dan Rooney failed to get a proposal before a vote of NFL owners at their meeting last week that would prevent teams from doing that.

"I guess we will have to go through another year that Steelers fans will have to scramble to try to find tickets," Art Rooney said. "But they have been doing a great job figuring out the system so far. I suppose they will continue to do that."

NOTES -- Kansas City appears in Pittsburgh for the first time in 18 years when the Chiefs play the Steelers Oct. 15. The teams played their past eight games in Kansas City. ... Tampa Bay makes its first appearance here since 1983 and the New Orleans Saints their first since 1993. ... The Steelers signed four-year veteran wide receiver Eugene Baker to a one-year contract. Baker (6-1, 167) spent four seasons with the Atlanta Falcons, who drafted him in the fifth round from Kent State in 1999. He spent time on practice squads in Buffalo and St. Louis and played in four games in two years with Carolina. New England cut him before last season.