I know it was a decade ago, and we’re all trying to wrap our heads around what happened to the Pittsburgh Steelers last night, but tuck this piece of information away for the next time the Steelers play a game outside the United States. Odds are, Mike Tomlin will have a different itinerary than he did last time.
On the latest episode of Ben Roethlisberger’s Footbahlin podcast, recorded while watching last night’s game between Pittsburgh and Cleveland, he told the story of the big mistake Tomlin and the Steelers made ahead of their 2013 London game against the Minnesota Vikings. One they paid dearly for once the ball was kicked off.
“[Minnesota] went over a week early,” Roethlisberger told his co-host Spence. “We went over three, four days early. That was a big mistake. Such a mistake. We were so exhausted and gassed. They were fresh as a lily.”
Minnesota won that game 34-27, extending the Steelers’ losing streak to dropping their first four games of the 2013 season. They rebounded after a much-needed bye week, winning five of their next seven, but couldn’t dig themselves out of a major hole and finished the year 8-8.
That day, Roethlisberger was under siege from the Vikings’ pass rush, who sacked him five times. Pittsburgh showed their fatigue early, immediately falling behind 10-0 after a field goal and 70-yard touchdown from QB Matt Cassel to WR Greg Jennings. Another Jennings touchdown late in the third quarter put Minnesota in control 34-17. True to form, the Steelers tried to storm back, making it a 34-27 contest in the final moments.
Pittsburgh drove down to the Vikings’ six-yard line, but Roethlisberger was sacked a final time, coughing up the ball that was recovered by Minnesota, who hung on to win.
Traveling internationally offers plenty of logistical nightmares for the football ops team. Everything from having the right electrical plug-ins (the outlets in Europe are different), to medical licensing issues to, of course, transporting an entire team and all their gear overseas. Sometimes that means taking all the toilet paper you can get your hands on.
But the biggest question for teams is…when do you get there? The balance between being able to practice at your own practice facility like teams usually do, not leaving for a domestic road game until the day before, versus wanting to feel settled and avoid the jet leg of a cross-pond trip.
That year, the Vikings made the call to arrive early. Perhaps one reason they did is they were technically the “host” team and had more logistics to handle as the NFL celebrated the event. It is still a relatively new thing as the league looked to expand its football footprint across the globe. As told by this 2013 USA Today article, the Vikings did their best to make it a full week as if they really were at home, even if they were thousands of miles away.
“The makeshift locker, weight and training rooms are in a hard-walled tent next to the practice field roughly 200 yards from players’ rooms, much like the arrangement during training camp. Meetings, walkthroughs and practices are at the exact same time they’d be at home.
“So far, it’s been as smooth as it could possibly go,” general manager Rick Spielman said. “You wanted to make sure that the coaches and the players have no distractions.”
Pittsburgh hasn’t played an international game since that 2013 matchup. But that drought is likely to end soon. It seems likely the Steelers will play outside America in 2024 or 2025. A game in Ireland has been floated, something the Rooneys have been open to doing. Pittsburgh is also incredibly popular in Mexico, and had the NFL held a game there this year (they opted against Mexico City renovating their stadium for the 2026 World Cup), the odds are high that the Steelers would’ve been invited. Soon enough, they’ll make another trip.
By this point, most teams have traveled outside the country. Heck, the Jacksonville Jaguars practically live there. Tomlin and the Steelers will be better prepared, in part because of those failed experiences. Just know when the Steelers leave extra early for their next international game, that’s the reason why.
Catch the full episode below.
