A frigid forecast: Temperatures for Steelers vs. Raiders on Christmas Eve expected to be among coldest games in team history
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- When the Steelers take on the Raiders at Acrisure Stadium on Saturday night, it's expected to be one of the coldest games in team history.
This Christmas Eve, it's going to be a special night at Acrisure Stadium, as the Steelers celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Immaculate Reception -- but it's going to be a special kind of cold on Pittsburgh's North Shore.
In historic terms, it could be one of the coldest games the Steelers ever play.
Temperatures on Saturday night are expected to dip into the single digits before kickoff, with wind chills well below the 0° mark, possibly even as low as
KDKA meteorologist Falicia Woody says "If you're going to the game, have numerous layers on and find ways to stay warm as much as possible!"
Bob Labriola, the editor of Steelers Digest, says that the coldest game in team history took place when the Steelers visited Cincinnati to face the Bengals in 1977, with a recorded temperature of -2°.
When it comes to home games, the Steelers have just once hosted an opponent when the temperature was below 10°.
On December 17, 1989, it was 5° for a 28-10 win against the Patriots at Three Rivers Stadium.
In 2017 for a game against the Browns and in 2004 for an AFC Championship tilt against the Patriots, the temperature at Acrisure Stadium, then known as Heinz Field, was 11°.
If the current forecasted temperatures remain as projected, it will be the second coldest Steelers game ever played in Pittsburgh.
Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin was asked about the potential bitter cold temperatures when he addressed the media during his weekly press conference on Tuesday.
"I'm just acknowledging that it's a component of December ball," Tomlin said. "We've got to be an all-weather group. I think everybody that that lives here and plays here understands and embraces that, and that's one of the reasons why we continually take the approach that we take whenever we get an opportunity to work in less-than-ideal weather conditions. It's always our attitude to work in less-than-ideal weather conditions in an effort to gain exposure and experience. Those that have been here know and understand it, those that are new, guys like George Pickens, we take every opportunity to acclimate them."
