The Pittsburgh Steelers haven’t played an international game in over a decade. I’m betting Cam Heyward isn’t too upset about that fact. On the latest episode of his Not Just Football podcast, Heyward recalled the team’s last trip overseas, its 2013 London loss to the Minnesota Vikings. A game where Pittsburgh came out flat before failing to rally late (which, to be fair, is how the Steelers play a lot of their games).
But the reason for the Steelers’ listless play was clear.
“The worst thing we did for that trip,” Heyward told co-host Hayden Walsh and guest long snapper Christian Kuntz. “We left on a Thursday night, got in Friday morning, and went straight to practice. That was the first time I’ve ever seen coaches sleep in a meeting. There were players falling asleep during warmup. It was rough. Our team likes to believe we don’t need sleep, or we don’t need to get adjusted to the time.”
It’s a similar concern Ben Roethlisberger voiced last season in his re-telling of the London game on his Footbahllin podcast. Roethlisberger noted that the Vikings had a smarter approach, leaving a full week in advance. That allowed their internal clocks to adjust and go through a normal week. The Steelers’ plan of powering through didn’t pan out.
Minnesota raced out to a 10-0 lead, aided by a Greg Jennings 70-yard touchdown catch. The Vikings led 20-10 at the half and sat on their advantage the rest of the way. Pittsburgh came back late but Roethlisberger was strip-sacked on the Vikings’ 6-yard line, turning the ball over and ending the game.
“That was the game [Adrian Peterson]…he stiff-armed somebody out of the way,” Heyward said. “Then somebody else had the angle and he beat the angle.”
A prime Peterson had a field day against the Steelers, rushing for 140 yards and two touchdowns. His most notable play was a 60-yard touchdown and likely the moment Heyward’s referring to. Through the hole, Peterson jumped over Ike Taylor, stiff-armed a flailing Lawrence Timmons, and outraced Ryan Clark to the end zone.
After the game, Clark and Heyward nearly came to blows on the team plane when Clark questioned why a first-round pick like Heyward wasn’t able to crack the starting lineup.
“I refuse to go back to London,” Heyward said. “I had the worst trip ever.”
It’s safe to say that might’ve been the team’s most miserable experience, in style and substance, of the last two decades. While the Steelers seem unlikely to return to London anytime soon, odds are high they’ll play internationally next season. The two most likely destinations are a game in Ireland or Mexico City. No matter where it’s held, the Steelers would be wise to leave for their trip much earlier this time.
