Steelers hold rare Heinz Field practice in prep for Chiefs

Who said Heinz Field had seen the last of the Pittsburgh Steelers for the 2021 season?

Two-and-a-half weeks after the Steelers’ regular-season home finale and longer than that since it’d been determined they had no chance of hosting a playoff game, the Steelers were back at their home stadium Friday.

For a practice.

The Steelers very rarely — if ever — have conducted an in-season practice at the 68,000-seat facility, although they have held their training camps there the past two years out of concerns related to the coronavirus pandemic.

Friday’s trip from the South Side — where the Steelers’ UPMC Rooney Sports Complex headquarters resides — to the North Shore wasn’t the result of the pandemic but because of field conditions.

“It is a way better field,” running back Najee Harris said of Heinz, “that’s the main thing. There ain’t people slipping and sliding everywhere.

“We don’t want any crazy injuries happening this close to the game, especially this big game we have got ahead of us, so we want everybody to be safe and have a good practice to execute your assignments better. So we had one here at Heinz Field.”

The Steelers travel Saturday to Kansas City for an AFC wild-card playoff game scheduled for a 8:15 p.m. Sunday kickoff.

The Steelers’ 22-year-old South Side facility does have an indoor field with artificial turf. Kansas City’s Arrowhead Stadium has natural grass and has a reputation as one of the NFL’s loudest stadiums. The Steelers practiced with piped-in noise Friday at Heinz Field, but they do that every week for one day throughout the season regardless of practice venue.

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