Pittsburgh Steelers fans travel well and can fill any venue with Black and Gold and Terrible Towels, and at Acrisure Stadium, Pittsburgh’s home-field advantage is one of the best in football. In a survey of 111 players by ESPN, Pittsburgh was ranked the ninth-toughest place to play in the NFL, making the third tier of difficulty.
Tier No. 1 included Kansas City at No. 1 and Seattle at No. 2. Both had significantly more votes than No. 3 Minnesota. Philadelphia, Buffalo and New Orleans were listed in Tier 2 while Denver, Green Bay, Pittsburgh, Detroit, Baltimore and Cleveland all made Tier 3.
Pittsburgh was voted the toughest place to play in the AFC North, as Baltimore came in at No. 11 and Cleveland at No. 12, while Cincinnati was voted No. 18.
The Steelers are 5-2 at home this season while barely above .500 at 5-4 on the road, so there’s no doubt that playing in the friendly confines of Acrisure Stadium has been a benefit for the Steelers this season. In total, Pittsburgh received 10 points, with each first-place vote receiving two points, while a second-place vote got one point and a third-place vote got 0.5 points.
It’s no surprise that Acrisure Stadium is considered a difficult place to play because of Pittsburgh’s fan base. Other stadiums like Lumen Field in Seattle got points for the stadium design that amplifies the crowd noise.
It’s fitting to see some of the teams/stadiums that didn’t make the list. Las Vegas failed to make the list, as did Atlanta, while Los Angeles only received 0.5 points. Those three venues are ones that Steelers fans have taken over and have turned into quasi-home environments for the Steelers. As a whole, Steelers fans are among the best in the league when it comes to traveling and making themselves heard in away venues, and having Acrisure Stadium as an advantage and making it one of the toughest places for opponents to play is also huge for the Steelers.
While Pittsburgh likely won’t be hosting a playoff game this season, it still has one more chance to win in front of the hometown crowd when the Cincinnati Bengals come to town in Week 18. The Steelers are going to be looking to snap their three-game losing streak, and getting another game at home in front of a divisional rival should provide some motivation for Pittsburgh to close the regular season on a high note.
