Players from both the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Cleveland Browns aren’t happy with the field at Acrisure Stadium.
Players from both teams expressed “outrage” about the “embarrassing” playing conditions at the Steelers’ field on Sunday to the NFL Players Association, according to ESPN’s Brooke Pryor. The field was reportedly “dry” and tough to play on during the Steelers’ 23-9 win over the Browns. Chunks of grass were repeatedly being kicked up throughout the game.
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The field has since been resodded, something that was already scheduled before the complaints.
“[We have] been in touch with both the union and the club, which has taken steps to replace the grass surface,” NFL spokesperson Brian McCarthy said, via ESPN.
There were several notable issues throughout Sunday’s contest. Steelers safety Miles Killebrew went down with a noncontact knee injury after he planted on the field, and kicker Chris Boswell slipped while he was trying to make a field goal in the fourth quarter.
“Honestly, it was s**t,” Steelers captain and NFLPA rep Cameron Heyward said. “I lost one of my teammates and kind of makes me sad about it.”
The Steelers’ field is natural grass, not turf. They share the stadium with the University of Pittsburgh, which was on the road last weekend. The Panthers had back-to-back home games before their 34-31 win at Florida State, however. The Steelers have had just two games at home this season, as one of their three "home" games was held in Dublin.
While it was an issue, one that had even drawn criticism from Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin earlier this week, he believes the issue has been fixed. The Steelers, who will take on the Cincinnati Bengals on the road on Thursday night, will be back at home on Oct. 26 against the Green Bay Packers.
"I thought it was poor [Sunday]," Tomlin said on Monday, via ESPN. "I'm not concerned going forward. It's my understanding that that turf is going to be swapped out, but I certainly acknowledge it was a concern yesterday."
Playing surfaces have been criticized more and more in recent years, especially at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, which is the home of both the Giants and the Jets. Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers went down with a torn ACL earlier this season, marking the latest such significant injury there in the last few years.
"Players deserve to have the safest and highest-quality places of work," an NFLPA source told ESPN. "The NFLPA is advocating to establish better leaguewide standards and pushing the NFL for more surface-specific data in order to ensure that our members are playing on the best possible field surfaces, no matter if it's grass or turf."