In certain NFL stadiums, the home team could be harangued with a chorus of boos on their own field, not by their own fans due to their performance, but by the swarm of visiting fans. Rarely is this more evident than when the Pittsburgh Steelers roll into town.
And rarely will you ever see Pittsburgh’s home turf have to share much ground with opposing fans. Arizona Cardinals QB Kyler Murray certainly isn’t anticipating having a ton of support in Acrisure Stadium on Sunday. And he’s looking forward to it.
“I’m expecting a hostile environment. Fans that love football, love their team”, he told reporters yesterday, via the team’s website. “Honestly, I enjoy playing on the road. We were taught that in college, just being road warriors and going into another place and winning, that was something we prided ourselves on”.
“Trying to take that to the league, it’s really a mindset”, he added. “It’s gonna be fun though. You don’t get many chances to be in environments like this one. I’ve never been there [since entering the NFL]. I’m sure it’s gonna be a sight to see”.
Pittsburgh certainly is a sight to see, the confluence of the three rivers around Acrisure Stadium making for one of the loveliest venues in American professional sports. But the energy in the stands, at least when the team on the field is earning it, is a rhythm all its own.
Former Steelers RB James Conner remembers. Asked if he’d talked to Conner about his time in Pittsburgh, Murray said that they had, “Just talking to him about how special his time there was with the guys that he got to play with and just how they did things”.
Sunday will mark Conner’s first game against the Steelers since leaving the team via free agency in 2021. He rushed for 2,302 yards on 532 attempts with 22 touchdowns and made the Pro Bowl during his time here, but repetitive issues staying healthy made the team reluctant to re-sign him. He’s since continued to have success in Arizona, albeit not without the occasional nick and bump.
As for Murray, how much of a road warrior is he? Well, he has an 11-20-1 record when playing at home over the course of his career and 15-13 on the road, so there may just be something to that. I’m not sure too many starting quarterbacks have losing home records and winning away records.
He has a 46-28 touchdown-to-interception ratio when playing at home, whereas away from his home surroundings it’s 40-15, though his yards per attempt differential is negligible, as is his completion percentage. Simply, he scores more and protects the ball better on the road.
