Family loyalties will be tested by Edmunds brothers matchup between Steelers, Bills

The Edmunds brothers don’t have to worry about making dinner reservations Saturday night or how many tickets to commandeer for friends and family members Sunday when an historic football matchup takes place at Heinz Field.

Parents Ferrell and Felicia Edmunds are taking care of the ancillary details in advance of the first NFL game involving three brothers in 92 years.

What the brothers are concerned with — well, at least Terrell and Trey — are what uniform colors their mother and father will wear when the Buffalo Bills and the Pittsburgh Steelers meet in prime time.

Will they support Trey, the oldest, and Terrell, the middle child, by wearing Steelers black and gold? Or will they show some love to Tremaine, the youngest sibling, by wearing Bills red and blue?

“It will be funny to see how they try to split it up,” Terrell Edmunds, the Steelers’ second-year strong safety, said Wednesday. “Hopefully, they pick the right team. It’s a home game for us. We’re playing at Heinz Field, so hopefully they pick the right jersey to wear.”

Ferrell Edmunds, who spent much of a seven-year NFL career with the Miami Dolphins, and Felicia, a former college track athlete, will join their sons on the field after warm-ups for a photo shoot for the ages. The game will mark the first time since 1927 three brothers will appear in the same NFL game.

“I’m sure (Ferrell and Felicia) have been preparing this whole year, just like we have,” said Trey Edmunds, who is in his third NFL season as a running back and second with the Steelers. “I know they have a couple tricks up their sleeve on what they are going to wear, when they are going to cheer for which team. It’s going to be exciting.

“They are in a position where they can’t lose, but we’re in a position where we’ve got to win.”

The Edmunds brothers are a subplot to the Steelers and Bills jostling for playoff positioning. At 8-5, the Steelers hold the No. 6 seed in the AFC but could overtake the 9-4 Bills for the No. 5 spot with a victory. Buffalo, which is led on defense by second-year middle linebacker Tremaine Edmunds, is just a game behind New England for the AFC East lead.

The game has been a topic of conversation in the brothers’ group text chain, but of more immediate significance is how the family loyalties are going to be divided.

“We talk every day,” Terrell said. “We don’t talk about football all day every day, but we definitely talked about the game and trying to figure out which family member is going to wear which jersey.”

As the game approaches, Ferrell and Felicia told their children not to worry about accommodations or tickets for the game. Terrell said the Edmunds family has chartered a bus and estimates a group of 30 making the trip to Pittsburgh.

“They took the burden off all our shoulders and wanted us to focus strictly on football this week,” Trey said.

The three brothers plan to dine with family members Saturday. On Sunday, after the photo op, it will be all business.

“We’ve got to make sure we limit how many plays he makes against us,” Terrell said about Tremaine, who has 97 tackles this year. “Of course, I want him to do well, but I want to win, too.”

With all three brothers attending the same high school and each matriculating to Virginia Tech, they’ve never lined up on opposite sides of the field. On Sunday, Tremaine could be tasked with tackling his oldest brother.

Trey said he won’t hesitate to put his little brother, who is four inches taller and outweighs him by 25 pounds, on the ground if necessary.

“I’m definitely going to do that,” he said. “That’s my job. I’m sure he’s going to try to run through me. That’s his job. When that whistle blows, it’s all competition at that point. It’s love, but it’s still competition. Everybody wants to win. Everybody wants to make plays.”

Terrell, though, said he draws the line at divulging any inside information on Tremaine’s tendencies that would provide the Steelers an advantage. He hopes Tremaine feels the same way.

“I don’t think he would do that coming from a brother,” Terrell said. “He wouldn’t want to try to expose nobody or do nothing crazy. You want to win, but at the same time it’s brotherly love.”

A brotherly love that won’t divide the close-knit NFL family. After the game, a three-way jersey swap is planned.

Trey just hopes his parents don’t get stressed trying to decide which team gets their rooting interest.

“If you ask me, they are going to find a way to enjoy it,” Trey said. “They can’t lose. If they are stressing more than us, I don’t know what to tell them at this point. It’s a surreal moment. Their emotions are going to be everywhere. Our emotions are going to be everywhere.

“At the end of the day, they can’t lose, so they’re going to be walking out of the stadium smiling.”

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