Former Steelers OC Bruce Arians Reveals The Shocking Truth About Pittsburgh's Home Crowd

The Pittsburgh Steelers were recently defeated at home on Sunday Night Football by the Green Bay Packers in a 35-25 loss that spiraled out of control in the second half. It particularly began when Packers quarterback Jordan Love completed 20 straight passes and humiliated the Steelers' defense. Pittsburgh's unit had been seen as the strength of the team in recent years, but for back to back weeks, they allowed an opposing quarterback to throw for over 300 yards and three touchdowns against their secondary. 

There was another issue throughout the game however, that others within the media, analysts, and former coaching circles caught that was not related to the performance of the teams on the field. On a recent episode of Inside the NFL with analyst Ryan Clark and former NFL head coach (and ex-Steelers Offensive Coordinator) Bruce Arians, both had critical observations on what transpired at Acrisure Stadium on Sunday night regarding the atmosphere inside the stadium. 

Arians had already made recent comments regarding Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers being forced to use a silent count at home, and only doubled down on these comments when he and Clark discussed the things that went wrong for the Steelers.

"The thing that upset me the most was that Aaron Rodgers had to use a silent count at Heinz Field," Arians stated bluntly. "That never has happened in the history of Heinz Field, that some other teams gonna take over the stadium and drown out the quarterback. That's just unheard of. I was shocked watching that on television."

Arians' comments about Rodgers being forced to use a silent count at home is one that stemmed from the poor play by the Steelers in the second half. The Packers fans that took over the stadium were never given a reason to quiet down, as the white-hot Packers offense marched down the field at will, with Packers tight end Tucker Kraft in particular going for over 143 yards on seven receptions as the Steelers were unable to generate any kind of pressure or make impactful plays to swing momentum in their favor. Despite the strong first half performance from the Steelers, having a 16-7 lead at the half, they were unable to keep up the pace.

The Packers put the game away as the Steelers could not keep up, giving the large number of Packers fans inside Acrisure Stadium many reasons to get excited, with many 'Go Pack Go' chants echoing throughout the stadium as they watched their team put the game away at the end. However, the situation with the opposing Packers fans taking over the stadium is not something that is likely to happen with other Steelers games at home throughout the rest of the season.

Steelers Home Crowds Will Likely Not Experience This Again

The Steelers fans that experienced the onslaught of Packers fans taking over Acrisure Stadium were motivated by a very particular reason. They were watching their former quarterback, the quarterback who led the Packers to Super Bowl XLV, play against them and have a chance at revenge. They wanted to watch Love outduel Rodgers and be proven right in their debates regarding whether or not they should have let Rodgers go when they did. Their intention was to make the atmosphere as hostile as possible for their former quarterback, and they succeeded. 

Considering the Steelers will not be partaking in any other revenge games against a team's former franchise quarterback this season, the likelihood that Arians' remarks about Rodgers using a silent count at home being true again is very low. This should be good news for Steelers fans hoping to not see their home stadium taken over by opposing fans again this season, and hopefully, the majority of crowds in Acrisure Stadium will be Steelers fans again.

What did you think about Arians' comments about Rodgers having to use silent counts at home? Let us know in the comments or on X at @SteelersSwamp7.

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