If you were going to work tomorrow, no you aren’t. There’s going to be plenty of “sick” days Monday around Pittsburgh as the Sunday night game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Dallas Cowboys began with a long weather delay. Originally scheduled to kickoff at 8:20 PM/EST, the game has been delayed by over an hour, and makes for the latest start in franchise history.
The Steelers and Cowboys will now kick off at 9:45 PM/EST.
Combing through the list of night games dating back to 1970, the latest previous kickoff per Pro Football Reference came in 2002, a 9:12 PM/EST kickoff against the New England Patriots. Game logs from the 70s and 80s appear to lack exact kickoffs this century’s game indicate but tonight’s game still appears to be the latest start in Steelers’ history and potentially NFL history.
A line of severe storms delayed the kickoff by nearly 90 minutes. Players and teams went back to their locker rooms and waited for the lightning to pass before being allowed to take the field at 9:25 PM/EST with kickoff set 20 minutes later.
A 2013 game between the Baltimore Ravens and Denver Broncos was delayed by two hours due to weather but officially kicked off at 9:13 PM/EST. Delays before games are common, the 2024 season opener between the Kansas City Chiefs and Ravens was paused, but delays of over an hour are unusual.
Pittsburgh’s no stranger to game delays and weird start times. In 2011, multiple power outages in San Francisco’s Candlestick Park twice delayed the Steelers game, including 20 minutes at the start while a 2015 1 PM/EST game against the St. Louis Rams was delayed a half hour due to the field catching on fire from a pyrotechnics mishap. A 2004 game against Miami, QB Ben Roethlisberger’s first start, was pushed up to get ahead of a Hurricane Jeanne.
Last season, the Steelers experienced two weather delays in their loss to the Arizona Cardinals that, from kickoff to game’s end, made for the longest game in Steelers’ history. Last year’s playoff game against the Buffalo Bills was pushed back a day due to a severe snowstorm. And in 2020, multiple games were moved around due to COVID outbreaks in opposing locker rooms, including changing the Steelers’ bye week.
Pittsburgh and Dallas are back on the field and ready to get going. Let’s hope it’s worth the wait.
