Steelers prep for rare stretch of 2 consecutive games indoors
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This weekend brings with it the beginning of that annual period between Thanksgiving and Christmas that in Pittsburgh typically means wintry weather.
Not for the Pittsburgh Steelers, though — at least not these next two weeks. Each of their next two games will be played in conditions that feature temperatures around 70 degrees without any chance of precipitation.
That’s because the Steelers’ upcoming games at the Indianapolis Colts and Atlanta Falcons are to be played in domes. That’s a rarity for the Steelers.
How rare? The most recent time the Steelers played in consecutive weeks at an indoor venue was more than 26 years ago — Oct. 20 and Oct. 27, 1996, at the Houston Oilers and Falcons, respectively. The Steelers played consecutive games indoors once since then — in 2017 — but those games (at the Detroit Lions and Colts) were interrupted by an idle week.
“Yeah, it’s sunny, man,” quarterback Kenny Pickett said when asked if quarterbacks enjoy playing in domes. “Not like last week, last week was a little chilly (32 degrees at Acrisure Stadium for the Steelers’ game against the Cincinnati Bengals). We can count for some good weather on Monday night.”
And the following Sunday at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium, too.
The Steelers play in one of only two of the NFL’s eight divisions that does not have a domed stadium for one of its teams — the AFC North joins the AFC East in that distinction. Ten of the NFL’s 30 stadiums are indoor facilities, with five having a fixed roof and five having a retractable roof. Of the 11 teams that play in indoor facilities, seven are in the NFC, another factor that contributes to the relative dearth of dome games for the Steelers.
It’s been almost a full year since the Steelers played an indoor game — Dec. 9, 2021, at Minnesota’s U.S. Bank Stadium. That was one of only five games in domes the Steelers have played among their past 76 outings (37 on the road) overall since late 2017.
“For me to play in another indoor stadium takes me back to college where I liked playing indoors,” Steelers running back Najee Harris said. “That’s just me personally. I know a lot of people on the team don’t like it, a lot of people mad we are (even) practicing inside because of the turf and stuff and do not like it.”
Harris’ college experience at Alabama annually featured the SEC championship in Atlanta in addition to come bowl games in domes. Harris was referencing that NFL players tend to not like playing on artificial surfaces because of a perceived increased risk of injury.
Fourteen of the NFL’s 30 venues have artificial turf; the Steelers have played at two so far this season.
The 6-foot-1, 232-pound Harris might be a perceived outlier, but he explained why he prefers playing on the plastic stuff to the real thing.
“Obviously, I am a bigger guy, so I put a lot more force in the ground when I cut,” Harris said. “Sometimes in the grass, that dirt, so sometimes I slip a little bit outside. Our grass out there (at the Steelers’ UPMC Rooney Sports Complex) is not good. You see me slip every day in practice. When it’s the turf, I don’t know, I just feel like I just like it more, personally.”
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