A mile high.
Five thousand, two hundred and eight feet. That’s how high above sea level Denver is.
It’s thin air. If you’re not used to it, it can be very taxing physically. For the Denver Broncos, it’s a real advantage playing at Empower Field at Mile High, where the Pittsburgh Steelers will travel to play on Sunday at 4:25 p.m.
For Steelers’ defensive stars Cameron Heyward and T.J. Watt, that altitude and how taxing it is physically throughout a game from a conditioning standpoint is something they haven’t had to deal with since 2018.
But now, ahead of the matchup, Heyward and Watt are preparing for it as best they can and are trying to get their minds right to battle the elements, knowing there’s nothing they can truly do to change it.
“I think it absolutely will be a challenge,” Watt said of the altitude, according to video via Steelers Live on Twitter. “I can’t really remember how it was the last time I was there, was ’18 or something like that. But I can’t really change it, so all I’m trying to do now is this whole week try to practice hard, rest, and recover as much as I possibly can so I’m ready to go when, when the game time kicks off.”
The elevation and its potential effects on an athlete give the Broncos one of the more unusual home-field advantages in sports. The Broncos routinely practice and play in that environment, allowing their own athletes to be acclimated to it, which gives them a leg up weekly.
Being a mile above sea level means less oxygen in the air. When the body is at an altitude like a mile high, within seconds of exposure to altitude, the body starts trying to breathe more. The body responds to less oxygen in each breath and attempts to increase oxygen uptake. Despite this response, there’s still less oxygen throughout the circulatory system, meaning less oxygen reaches your muscles. This, in turn, will limit exercise performance.
That will affect the Steelers on the field. It’ll be a significant challenge, without a doubt. Not having played there since 2018 is a big deal, too. It’s not like they have recent experience to lean on.
But for Cameron Heyward, they just have to be ready to go, and the altitude challenges cannot be a reason why the Steelers could lose the game.
“Denver is one of a kind, the altitude. Shoot, you don’t even have to play football. You go to Denver, you’re gonna feel the altitude,” Heyward said of the altitude in Denver on the latest episode of his podcast. “I get headaches even just walking around there. But that can’t be the reason why we lose the game, it can’t be the reason why we win a game. So, gotta battle the elements and be ready for it.”
It’s hard to simulate the altitude challenges that playing in Denver will provide, but the Steelers will do their best to be prepared for them.
The last time Pittsburgh played in Denver, things didn’t go well, though. The Steelers lost in 2018, 24-17, in Denver, and also lost in 2016, 23-16. So, the last two trips to Denver have not gone well for Pittsburgh.
Cameron Heyward hopes to check that box of getting a win in Denver this week, though, even with the challenges the altitude will provide.
