Steelers' Enormous Problem May Not Be Solved For A Long Time

Many Pittsburgh Steelers fans have made their frustrations known for years now. When a team consistently fails to win a playoff game, there are plenty of aspects of the organization from top to bottom that can be criticized. The goal is simple: do everything possible to fix these problems and make Pittsburgh a true contender, which is much easier said than done. That idea attempts to fix some of the issues, but more will pop up. Others may take a year or two to truly get done. One in particular may take a decade to truly deal with. 

On a recent episode of Deebo & Joe, former linebacker James Harrison addressed a recent change that the Steelers made and explained why it doesn't matter, as well as what needs to be done to truly fix it.

"Here's the problem: the biggest issue that we have is that it's too many games played on that surface, period..." Harrison said. "Until the Steelers have their own stadium that only they play in, this will be a problem that will continue to be a problem... it's not going to get any better."

This had been a talking point throughout the 2025 season. The field grass at Acrisure Stadium was atrocious. As Harrison mentioned as well, that aspect received an F- on the official NFLPA report card due to how unsafe it was throughout the season. The hope is that the new sod that was recently put down will fix everything, but the former Steelers linebacker believes that there's no chance that it works out like that. 

Steeler Nation remembers the physically unplayable surface that came up during their Week 6 game against the Cleveland Browns. The terrible turf supposedly directly led to a non-contact season-ending injury to captain Miles Killebrew as he fell awkwardly after trying to plant his foot in the ground during a kickoff. Star kicker Chris Boswell also slipped during a field goal attempt due to the lack of traction under his cleats. 

After that game, Pittsburgh did re-sod the field. It helped a little bit, but not enough. The NFLPA report card grade reflected that more than the Browns and Steelers had issues with the playing surface. It never got as bad as it did in that one game against Cleveland, but trying to hastily fix it during the season was not good enough. This team won't thrive with players tearing tendons and muscles just from stepping wrong.

Steelers May Not Have To Worry About This As Much As Harrison Believes

Harrison's argument was that all the other games and events being done on Acrisure Stadium is what contributed to the problem, so it won't actually get fixed until the Steelers build their own stadium. However, the field conditions usually are really good. Before 2025, it was extremely rare to see the grass itself cause any issues during the game. The fact that it was barely talked about prior to the season is a big plus. 

Owner Art Rooney II has certainly made many mistakes with this team in recent years, but the field is usually not one of them. The most likely reason for the recent poor conditions was some sort of issue with the product itself or a simple oversight in installation. Whatever the reason is, it can't happen again. It needs to go back to being the high-quality grass that never gets spoken about.

Yes, there are many other activities that happen in that stadium, including concerts and Pittsburgh Panthers games. That was not a problem before, so one bad year should not make it a problem now. As long as it's addressed properly, this should be a one-time mistake that gets brought up to explain why the Steelers need to use precise care when sodding the field each year.

What do you think about Harrison saying that the terrible field conditions will continue on for years to come? Let us know on X at @Steelers_ChrisB.

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