One of the big concerns for the Pittsburgh Steelers ahead of their game in Dublin against the Minnesota Vikings this week is when the team will depart overseas.
The idea is that it’s better to leave earlier in the week so that players can adjust to the time change and jet lag that comes with the travel.
Apparently, head coach Mike Tomlin has learned his lesson after the team looked very sluggish in the 2013 London game against the Minnesota Vikings, as the Steelers wanted to leave earlier in the week this time around.
However, as Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported, the NFL did not allow them to do that.
“FYI, the Steelers wanted to go over early in the week, but the NFL said no and (is) making each (team) arrive at the same time,” Dulac wrote. “I don’t know the exact reason for the change… Maybe it has to do with something about competitive advantage. But it wasn’t the Steelers’ decision.”
As Dulac points out, teams have always been free to leave when they want, whether that be early or late in the week. One can only assume competitive advantage is playing a role in the NFL’s decision-making here.
Defensive lineman Cam Heyward is the only remaining Steelers player from that 2013 game and has previously stated how bad things were because of how late Pittsburgh left for London.
“We left Thursday night and arrived Friday morning,” Heyward said earlier this year on the Not Just Football with Cam Heyward podcast. “Everybody was asleep during practice. Everybody was falling asleep during the stretch.
“Then we had meetings after, everybody fell asleep there. Then, during the game, everybody was asleep in the first half. It’s rough because you’re going, what? It’ll be five hours ahead? So you’re trying to get sleep on a plane going over there. It’s not ideal.”
The good news for this year’s game is that the Vikings, who left earlier than the Steelers in 2013, will have to overcome the same issue the Steelers have to.
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