The Pittsburgh Steelers had a great win against the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, but they also suffered a sizeable loss. Acrisure Stadium’s field wasn’t in great shape, and Miles Killebrew’s knee gave out as he was running down the field on a kick return late in the second quarter. The team quickly ruled him out. Speaking Monday, Mike Tomlin ruled him out for Thursday’s game, which is not a good sign.
Two Steelers home games and several Pitt games have left the field beaten. Although it was scheduled to be resodded after Sunday’s win, it certainly was in poor condition. That irked Cam Heyward, who alludes to the field having something to do with Killebrew’s injury.
“Honestly, it was shit,” Heyward said Tuesday, via 93.7 The Fan on X. “I lost one of my teammates, and you know, kind of makes me sad about it.”
Heyward isn’t the first Steeler to express disdain with those playing conditions. Aaron Rodgers had a similar comment Sunday after the game, calling the field “borderline unplayable”. To an extent, he’s right. The poor conditions caused Chris Boswell to slip on a long field goal attempt later in the game, leaving a massive divot in the middle of the field.
The field will be in better shape when the Steelers return home against Green Bay in two weeks. The resodding process takes a long time. It can’t exactly be rushed in just a week when Pitt and the Steelers are alternating home games.
The situation has also raised questions about the advantages of a turf field over a grass field. Heyward prefers grass, but acknowledges it has to reach a certain standard.
“I like grass, but that wasn’t grass we played on… Hopefully it’s handled by the next time we play,” Heyward said.
In all honesty, a good grass field can be much better than a turn field. It’s better for the body to play on natural conditions, and turf fields like MetLife in New York have earned a reputation for causing injuries. If the quality of the grass is good, it’s more suitable for the Steelers. Most players seem to prefer grass anyway.
Still, the grass has to be of good quality. And it certainly wasn’t on Sunday. Whether it contributed to Killebrew’s injury is hard to say, but it still needs to be better moving forward. Unfortunately, as long as the Steelers share a grass field with Pitt, issues like these will probably pop up. But that’s another discussion, and what matters most is that the field will be in better shape the next time the Steelers see it.
