Steelers Defender Expresses Legitimate Concern Over Ireland Trip: "Gonna Be Tired"

It surely is exciting for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Art Rooney II, along with his entire family, that the organization will be playing a regular season matchup in Dublin, Ireland. There is a lot of history between the franchise's ownership and the European country. It will be the team's first international contest since 2013, which didn't go how the fan base had hoped it would. The Minnesota Vikings won that game by a score of 34-27, as it took place in London, England. It will be interesting to see how Head Coach Mike Tomlin and his group adjust to a much different time zone and environment as they matchup with the Vikings again overseas.

The Steelers reportedly wanted to head to Ireland early, but the NFL didn't allow it in order to prevent Pittsburgh from gaining some kind of competitive advantage. Back in 2013, Tomlin and co. started off very slow. The score was 20-10 at halftime, and then 34-17 after the third quarter. The unit never truly did adjust to playing abroad, and the hope is that the same occurrence doesn't happen again.

With a record of 2-1, the team has set itself in a decent position as October nears. It would be great to get a third win before the second month of the 2025 campaign arrives. There are concerns however, given how the 2013 trip went, and cornerback Darius Slay isn't really instilling much confidence ahead of the franchise's Thursday flight to Dublin. He detailed some concerns on the most recent episode of The Richard Sherman Podcast.

"The long flight, first of all, will be bad, then always the sleep will be off," Slay said. "I think we're really behind, the game [is] really at 9:30 [Eastern Time]. That's already bad. My sleeping schedule is going to be off. They're already trying to give us the sleep schedule on how to sleep. 'Make sure you sleep all through the plane. Don't go to sleep when you first get there.' Like, I'm gonna be tired already."

Pittsburgh's play has not been too inspiring through three games. While a winning record is the current reality, both the offense and defensive lines have displayed a ton of inconsistencies. Heading overseas and showing even the slightest bit of exhaustion will be blood in the water for the Vikings, a team that has an absolutely phenomenal defense run by Brian Flores.

Most players will likely say that playing in a different country is not ideal. Not only are some of these countries not experienced in hosting American football games, but the environments are much different. Additionally, traveling to a time zone that your body is not prepared for is a different beast. Slay cited sleeping instructions because it is important to follow them to avoid any kind of serious jet lag.

It is fair to say that both teams will be going through the same circumstances, but the difference will be how each franchise's roster handles the challenging change of pace. Per Slay's words, it almost seems as if he already has a negative mindset going into the weekend. That may affect his play, or it may not, but the point remains that the challenges the Steelers clearly faced in 2013 may be resurfacing as the flight to Dublin and a big Week 4 matchup inch closer.

Steelers Will Hear It From Fans If They Start Out Slow On Sunday

If the Vikings come out firing on all cylinders with a backup quarterback under center, but Pittsburgh seems to struggle early, it will be a direct reflection of how each respective coaching staff planned for the trip. Tomlin has already faced backlash for how his defense has performed in 2025, but simply going through the motions in a regular season game, regardless of where it is, will not be accepted by the fans in the Steel City.

Do you trust that the Steelers will be ready to play right away in Dublin? Let us know in the comments below!

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