PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Steelers’ 2022 schedule was released along with the rest of the NFL slate Thursday.

The season will kick off on Thursday, Sept. 8 with the Los Angeles Rams hosting the Buffalo Bills at SoFi Stadium. ESPN opens its schedule with Monday Night Football on Sept. 12, featuring the Denver Broncos hosting the Seattle Seahawks.

The NFL expanded to 17 regular-season games last season. The final regular-season games in 2022 will be played Jan. 8, 2023. The playoffs begin Jan. 14, and continue through Super Bowl LVII on Feb. 12, in Glendale, Arizona.

Here's what's in store for the Steelers:

Schedule

Sept. 11: at Cincinnati

Sept. 18: vs. New England

Sept. 22: at Cleveland (TNF)

Oct. 2: vs. New York Jets

Oct. 9: at Buffalo

Oct. 16: vs. Tampa Bay

Oct. 23: at Miami (SNF)

Oct. 30: at Philadelphia

Nov. 6: BYE

Nov. 13: vs. New Orleans

Nov. 20: vs. Cincinnati (SNF)

Nov. 28: at Indianapolis (MNF)

Dec. 4: at Atlanta

Dec. 11: vs. Baltimore

Dec. 18: at Carolina

Dec. 24 vs. Las Vegas (Saturday night, Christmas Eve)

Jan. 1: at Baltimore

Jan. 8: vs. Cleveland

Strength of schedule: T-12, .512

Biggest takeaway

While the Steelers’ schedule isn’t as tough as a year ago, they still start out with a gauntlet of difficult games, including a season opener against the Super Bowl runners up. Whoever takes the reins from Ben Roethlisberger will face two AFC North opponents in the first three weeks and tests from two of the league’s best in Buffalo and against Tampa Bay and ageless wonder Tom Brady. No pressure.

Revenge game

The Steelers start the season with an opener loaded with revenge storylines. A year ago, the Bengals didn’t just sweep the Steelers for the first time in a decade, they embarrassed them. The first time around, the Steelers lost by two scores, and Bengals receiver -- and Pitt product -- Tyler Boyd said the Steelers ‘gave up.’ Then, in the final game between the two in Cincinnati, the Bengals thumped the Steelers 41-10 in a game that felt like Cincinnati’s coronation as the kings of the AFC North. Once the little brother of the division, the Bengals are coming off a hot season, and the Steelers want to get off to a fast start in the post-Roethlisberger era. Grab your popcorn for this one.

What the oddsmakers think

The oddsmakers have the Steelers win total at 7.5. For the Steelers to hit the over, they’ll need the quarterback situation to be settled -- and quick. Whether that’s Kenny Pickett starting from the beginning and deftly adjusting to the NFL learning curve or Mitch Trubisky commanding Matt Canada’s offense, whoever takes over the starting job will have to hit the ground running, literally.

Bold prediction

The Steelers will have three wins at the bye week. Not only are the first five games tough, but every game before the bye will be difficult for a new quarterback to navigate. The Steelers have a stout defense, but they’ll be facing the formidable offenses of Tampa Bay, Buffalo, Miami and Cincinnati. The Browns, Patriots and Eagles aren’t a walk in the park, either.