You’ve heard of snakes on a plane. How about a locker room? Not only did the Pittsburgh Steelers have to contend with a potent Washington Commanders offense, they had to deal with another not-so-friendly foe moments before kickoff. As revealed by Cam Heyward in a preview of his upcoming Not Just Football podcast, there was a snake in the Steelers’ locker room Sunday afternoon.
“Before the game, I go out, warm up,” Heyward said in a clip shared Wednesday. “I come back in. Everyone’s a little shocked when I come back in. I’m like, ‘What’s going on?’ There was a snake in our locker room. A snake. It was coming from the bottom of Russell [Wilson]’s locker. Everybody was thrown for a loop.”
Heyward said “tons” of players were freaked out in the locker room trying to figure out what to do. Ultimately, the problem solved itself.
“Nobody got [the snake]. Nobody got it. It slithered right back under.”
The Commanders’ stadium is known for “interesting” experiences like these and Northwest Stadium, changed from FedEx Field just months ago, isn’t known as the most modern venue in which to play.
To welcome fans back in the 2021 season opener, a pipe broke that poured sewage on fans. Later that year, a railing over one of the tunnels broke and caused fans to fall to the ground, nearly crashing into Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts as he walked off the field. Fortunately, no one was seriously hurt though a lawsuit against Washington was filed.
In true Mike Tomlin fashion, he took the moment in stride and got the Steelers refocused.
“Mike T was like, ‘We can make a big deal about a small locker room, there being a snake. Doesn’t matter, we still gotta win.'”
Pittsburgh’s defense wasn’t impacted by the moment. The Steelers forced Washington to punt on its first two possessions, something the Commanders hadn’t done all season. Pittsburgh’s offense also showed a quicker start than normal, finding the end zone on its second possession after a three-and-out on its opening drive.
After the 28-27 win, the only snake left was the one on WR Mike Williams’ Instagram post in what seemed to be a jab at his former QB Aaron Rodgers.
The Steelers will enjoy the comforts of home when they host the Baltimore Ravens this weekend. Snake free.
Heyward’s full podcast will drop Thursday morning.
