Pittsburgh Steelers plane forced to make emergency landing in Kansas City
The Pittsburgh Steelers were riding high after a huge win over the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday Night Football. Unfortunately for the victorious squad, the win didn’t stop them from running into trouble on the way home. The team’s chartered plane from Las Vegas on Sunday night was supposed to get back to Pittsburgh by 5:30 a.m. on Monday morning, but they had to make an emergency landing in Kansas City.
As of 9:20 a.m. ET, Pittsburgh players are still stuck in Kansas City, according to NFL insider Adam Schefter. A replacement plane is scheduled to scoop the 182 passengers within the hour, however.
“After their team plane was unexpectedly diverted to Kansas City early this morning, the Steelers remain on the same plane that left Las Vegas at roughly 11:30 pm PDT last night, waiting for another plane to get them back to Pittsburgh,” Schefter shared. “Steelers were supposed to have landed in Pittsburgh about 5:30 am; their new arrival time remains uncertain. Soon enough they’ll be back on another plane; they play at Houston on Sunday.”
Several media outlets reported that the Steelers’ plane landed at KCI Airport at 4:55 a.m. ET because of an oil pressure failure in one of the engines. Fire trucks arrived to inspect the Airbus A330-900, according to Pittsburgh CBS affiliate KDKA.
Steelers defensive tackle Cam Heyward tweeted through the stressful situation, including sending a message to Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift to give them a ride. Swift was in attendance at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City on Sunday to watch the Chiefs beat the Bears amid rumors of a relationship with the star tight end.
Heyward jokes about call against Steelers S Minkah Fitzpatrick
Heyward also referenced a controversial roughing the passer call against Minkah Fitzpatrick from Sunday night. Officials called a hit by the Steelers’ safety on Raiders’ quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo for roughing the passer. The questionable penalty extended the Raiders’ drive, and they scored a touchdown off it.
Sunday Night Football’s Rules Analyst Terry McAulay did not agree with the call.
He chimed in with his thoughts on the questionable penalty called by officials. “As I said before, yeah, there is some (contact) but it has to be forcible. The shoulder took most of it and it was really more glancing than anything else,” McAulay said.
The Pittsburgh defense once again put together a dominant performance, forcing three turnovers. Those were critical in leading them to the win, much like their victory last weekend over their rivals, the Cleveland Browns.
In the win, T.J. Watt had two sacks, two tackles for loss, and six total pressures on the night. He now has six sacks on the 2023 campaign.
Steelers’ corner Levi Wallace added two interceptions on Sunday, including the game-clinching interception in the final seconds.
Meanwhile, quarterback Kenny Pickett completed 16 of 28 passes for 235 passing yards, while tossing in two touchdowns.