Steelers' Mike McCarthy Detailed His Risky Paris Bet With Cleveland Waiting

The Pittsburgh Steelers and the New Orleans Saints have the same Sunday appointment in France, but they've spent the week operating on two very different clocks. One team has had time to settle in, practice locally and make the strange hours feel normal. The other is trusting a tighter schedule that won't get much credit if it works. If it doesn't, the flight itinerary might become the most unpopular piece of paperwork in Pittsburgh.

Head Coach Mike McCarthy finally explained why Pittsburgh waited until Thursday evening to fly overseas, arriving Friday morning ahead of Sunday's first NFL regular-season game in Paris. New Orleans landed Monday after beating the New York Giants, gaining several extra days before the October 25 game at Stade de France. McCarthy's reasoning extends beyond jet lag.

The coach told reporters Friday that Pittsburgh's veteran makeup influenced the decision. More revealingly, he acknowledged looking beyond Paris to the Cleveland Browns, who visit Acrisure Stadium on November 1. After a 26-19 overtime victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last Sunday, McCarthy had to map out three straight weeks with an international trip in the middle. During his Friday press conference, he rejected the idea that there is one universally correct overseas itinerary.

“I think it's really personal preference. I think, you know, I've done this a long time. I think there's variables, you know, where you live, how you train, you know where you're going, all those things. The youth of your team, you know, how old your team [is]. And so I think when you look at all those things, you make a sound decision. So I don't think it's a right or wrong,” McCarthy said.

That's an understandable coaching answer, but it also highlights the part fans are entitled to question. The Saints received nearly an entire workweek in France. Pittsburgh gave itself roughly two days, betting that familiar preparation and a shorter overseas stay would be more valuable than extra time with the local clock. His next explanation made clear how much the roster itself shaped that bet.

“I think you do what you feel is best to win the game. And when the schedule came out, you know, playing in Tampa and then, you know, coming back to a division game, you know, next week with Cleveland. So you look at all those things and we are a veteran team. This is the oldest team that I've personally been the head coach of. So all those factors go into those decisions. So most importantly is we have a sound plan. We have a sound preparation plan. We need to exercise that plan and make sure our guys are ready to go Sunday,” McCarthy said.

Notice the precision there. He didn't declare Pittsburgh the NFL's oldest team. He called it the oldest roster he has coached, a distinction worth keeping intact rather than turning his remarks into another unsupported league-wide ranking.

There are obvious faces behind that calculation. Aaron Rodgers is 42, Cameron Heyward is 37 and TJ Watt recently turned 32. Their jobs demand very different physical workloads, but none benefits from treating recovery and sleep as optional extras on an international itinerary.

The catch is that Rodgers would have liked another experience. The quarterback acknowledged Friday that he'd appreciate arriving on a Monday for once, while also recognizing the rationale for later departures. His travel concerns add an interesting wrinkle: even players accustomed to crossing the Atlantic don't necessarily agree on the best way to do it.

Pittsburgh has precedent for its approach. The Steelers also arrived late for last season's game in Dublin and defeated the Minnesota Vikings 24-21. One win in Ireland doesn't settle a debate about body clocks and a different opponent.

Friday brought an extra complication when wind and rain forced Pittsburgh to scrap its planned session at Stade de France. The team shifted its activation work inside the hotel, losing the opportunity to get onto Sunday's playing surface as originally intended. McCarthy couldn't control the weather. He did choose an itinerary with little room for surprises.

And Cleveland is no ordinary next opponent. The Browns already beat Pittsburgh 27-24 on October 1, making the November 1 rematch a chance to erase an early AFC North loss. McCarthy is attempting to protect his players' preparation for that game without giving away an edge against New Orleans. That's an ambitious bit of calendar management, especially when a second straight international win is hardly guaranteed.

Steelers Need McCarthy's Calendar Bet To Pay Off Twice

Here's the uncomfortable part: Pittsburgh voluntarily surrendered several days of acclimation to an opponent that had already been living and practicing in France. McCarthy may have excellent reasons, but calling this merely personal preference makes the competitive trade-off sound smaller than it is. The Saints have one advantage the Steelers cannot retrieve on Saturday: time already spent there.

Still, the coach deserves credit for considering the entire stretch instead of treating Paris as an isolated spectacle. An older roster doesn't magically reset when the plane lands back in Pennsylvania, and a divisional opponent won't care how exciting the sightseeing was. His plan could leave Pittsburgh better positioned for Cleveland, even if it creates a tougher adjustment this weekend.

That's the bet McCarthy has made. Sunday will test whether his veterans can perform on a rushed international clock, and next week will test whether the restraint pays off at home. If the Steelers look flat early against New Orleans, nobody will need a passport to find the first question waiting for their coach.

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