Players vote Acrisure Stadium one of ten hardest places to play

Pittsburgh Steelers fans travel well and can fill any venue with black and gold and terrible towels, and at Acrisure Stadium, Pittsburgh’s home field advantage is one of the best in football. In a survey of 111 players by ESPNPittsburgh was ranked as the ninth hardest place to play in the NFL, which is the third most difficult place.

Tier no. 1 included Kansas City as the No. 1 and Seattle as no. 2. Both had significantly more votes than no. 3 Minnesota. Philadelphia, Buffalo and New Orleans were listed in Tier 2, while Denver, Green Bay, Pittsburgh, Detroit, Baltimore and Cleveland all reached Tier 3.

Pittsburgh was named the toughest place to play in the AFC North, as Baltimore came in as the No. 11 and Cleveland as no. 12, while Cincinnati was voted no. 18.

The Steelers are 5-2 at home this season, while they’re just over .500 at 5-4 on the road, so there’s no doubt that playing in the friendly confines of Acrisure Stadium has been an advantage for the Steelers this season season. In total, Pittsburgh received 10 points, with each first-place vote receiving two points, while a second-place vote received one point and a third-place vote received 0.5 points.

It’s no surprise that Acrisure Stadium is considered a tough place to play because of Pittsburgh’s fan base. Other stadiums such as Lumen Field in Seattle received points for stadium design that amplifies crowd noise.

It is fitting to see some of the teams/stadiums that did not make the list. Las Vegas failed to make the list, as did Atlanta, while Los Angeles scored just 0.5 points. These three venues are ones that Steelers fans have taken over and turned into near-home environments for the Steelers. As a whole, Steelers fans are among the best in the league when it comes to traveling and making themselves heard in away venues, and having Acrisure Stadium as an advantage and making it one of the toughest places for opponents to play is also huge for Steelers.

While Pittsburgh likely won’t host a playoff game this season, it still has one more chance to win in front of its hometown crowd when the Cincinnati Bengals come to town in Week 18. The Steelers will look to snap their three-game losing streak streak, and getting another game at home against a division rival should provide some motivation for Pittsburgh to close out the regular season on a high note.