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The Pittsburgh Steelers offense finally took flight during the team’s 23-18 victory against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 3. But the Steelers dealt with flight problems on their way home after the game.
Steelers senior director of communications Burt Lauten tweeted early on the morning of September 25 that the team’s charter plane “unexpectedly” stopped in Kansas City on the way back to Pittsburgh from Las Vegas. KDKA TV, who had a pair of journalists on the plane, reported the plane landed in Kansas City just before 5 am ET because of an oil pressure failure in one of the engines.
Lauten included in his tweet that “everyone on the plane is safe.”
NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported that the Steelers are planning to leave Kansas City on a new plane at 12:30 p.m. Eastern time.
Cameron Heyward Making the Best of Emergency Plane Landing
Having to make an emergency plane landing is about as serious as it gets when it comes to NFL team travel. But Steelers veteran defensive lineman Cameron Heyward did his best to make light of the situation.
Heyward joked on Twitter that safety Minkah Fitzpatrick caused the team to have to stop in Kansas City. Fitzpatrick committed a controversial roughing the passer penalty against the Raiders in the fourth quarter of Week 3.
Heyward then jokingly asked Taylor Swift and Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce for a ride to Pittsburgh.
The second tweet was in reference to the pop music star attending the Chiefs matchup against the Chicago Bears in Week 3. Swift watched the game with Kelce’s mother in a box at Arrowhead Stadium.
Steelers Heading Home in 1st Place in the AFC North
Regardless of how long it takes, when the Steelers arrive back in Pittsburgh, they will be in first place in the AFC North.
Heading into the season, Steelers fans expected the team to compete for a division title. But after the Week 1 rout to the San Francisco 49ers at Acrisure Stadium, it didn’t seem like the Steelers would be a first-place team by the end of the month.
Two hard-fought victories against the Raiders and Cleveland Browns, though, have the Steelers sitting at 2-1. The Browns and Baltimore Ravens are also 2-1.
The Steelers finally got the offense going in Vegas during Week 3. Going into the matchup, the team had just two offensive touchdowns in the first two games combined.
Against the Raiders, the Steelers scored a pair of offensive touchdowns — one of which was a 72-yard pass to Calvin Austin III.
After the Raiders scored the game-opening touchdown, the Steelers offense reeled off 23 straight points.
Quarterback Kenny Pickett played his best game of the season, completing 16 of 28 passes for 235 yards and 2 touchdowns. It was his first NFL game with multiple touchdown passes.
The ground game only averaged 3.4 yards per carry, but it did enough to help give the Steelers offense balance. Pittsburgh rushed for a season-high 105 yards. Najee Harris led the way with 65 rushing yards on 19 carries.
It wasn’t a perfect outing by any means. Especially during a week where the offenses of the Miami Dolphins and Chiefs absolutely dominated, the Steelers offense isn’t going to get too many headlines.
But it was a step in the right direction for Pittsburgh.
The Steelers will be back on a plane for their Week 4 matchup when they play the Houston Texans.
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