The Pittsburgh Steelers have several obstacles standing in their way this season, but jet lag won’t be one of them. According to ESPN, the Steelers are traveling less than any other team in the league, just 6,442 miles. And they’re the only team in football who won’t even leave the Eastern Time Zone this year.
Via Bill Speros, ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweeted out the travel miles for each team this upcoming year.
Much of that has to do with the Steelers playing in the AFC North and the established, rotating schedule that keeps Pittsburgh on the east coast this year, playing the AFC East and NFC South this year. It’s why the Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, and Cleveland Browns are also among the teams travelling the least this year. But even those clubs leave the Eastern Time Zone at least once. Not Pittsburgh. The Steelers also avoiding an international game this season keeps their travel plans light.
In addition to their AFC North games against Baltimore, Cincinnati, and Cleveland, the Steelers will also travel to: Atlanta, Buffalo, Carolina, Indianapolis, Miami, and Philadelphia.
Seattle is traveling the most, nearly 30,000 miles over 34 times zones. That includes a trip to Munich for an international game in Germany against Tampa Bay.
Last year, Pittsburgh had the eighth-fewest miles to travel so they’ve caught a break in their schedule two years running. The NFL will release its full schedule, including home and away matchups, on May 12th, with select games being announced prior to that date.
Of course, this all looks good on paper. But all that matters is how the team looks once it’s on the field. On Sundays, no one cares how short of a plane ride it was.
