By Gerry Dulac, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/
If the Steelers have to begin the 2010 regular season without quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who faces a possible suspension for his alleged sexual-assault incident in Georgia, they will do so against three teams that did not make the playoffs in '09.The Steelers will open the season Sept. 12 at home against the Atlanta Falcons, then play back-to-back road games against the Tennessee Titans and Tampa Bay Buccaneers as part of the 16-game schedule that was released Tuesday by the NFL. The schedule includes the maximum five games in prime time, including three in a row against the Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints, AFC North Division champion Cincinnati Bengals and New England Patriots.
The Steelers don't face a playoff team until their fourth game -- against the Ravens Oct. 3 at Heinz Field.
Roethlisberger is expected to learn his punishment today, and it's possible he could not play in a regular-season game until Oct. 17 at home against the Cleveland Browns if he is given a four-game suspension by commissioner Roger Goodell. The Steelers have an open date Oct. 10.
That means the Steelers probably will open the season with newly acquired Byron Leftwich or Dennis Dixon, who lost his only start in overtime last season when he replaced an injured Roethlisberger (concussion) in Baltimore.
"I have no clue right now," Dixon said Tuesday about the possibility of opening the season as the starter. "As of right now, I'm just focusing on practice and going snap by snap."
"It really doesn't matter to me," wide receiver Mike Wallace said. "We have two other good quarterbacks with Charlie Batch and Dennis Dixon. So whoever is under center, we're going to be ready to go. We'll go about our game plan the same way."
Even though they missed the playoffs with a 9-7 record last season, the Steelers remain a prime-time attraction for the NFL. They will play the maximum five night games this season, including three on Sunday night -- Oct. 31 in New Orleans; Nov. 14 at home against the Patriots; and Dec. 5 in Baltimore.
They will also play a Monday night game Nov. 8 in Cincinnati, where the Bengals ended an eight-year losing streak against the Steelers last season; and a Thursday night game Dec. 23 at home against the Carolina Panthers.
The Steelers will play five of their first eight games on the road, including two in Florida -- Sept. 26 at Tampa Bay and Oct. 24 in Miami. Their other non-division road game is Nov. 28 in Buffalo, N.Y.
Gerry Dulac: gdulac@post-gazette.com.
Steelers 2010 NFL Schedule
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