On Tuesday evening, we learned that the Pittsburgh Steelers would be traveling to Paris, France, in Week 7 to face the New Orleans Saints. This comes one year after it was announced that the Steelers would be hosting an international game in Dublin, Ireland, in 2025.
But despite knowing the team will be traveling across the Atlantic in October, the Steelers quietly hold an advantage in total travel distance for the 2026 season.
On Wednesday, ESPN insider Adam Schefter released a graphic detailing the number of miles all 32 teams will be required to travel for away games this year. The Steelers' 14,183 miles might seem like a lot, but this ranks just 26th in air miles traveled for the upcoming season.
If you've been on a plane before, you know that jet lag is a real thing. And for some teams, they will experience significantly more of it than the Steelers.
The Pittsburgh Steelers get a quiet advantage with a short total travel distance on the 2026 schedule
The San Francisco 49ers, for example, will travel 38,105 air miles for their away games this year. Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Rams will cover 34,847 miles, and the Houston Texans will travel 28,470 miles.
But how does the Steelers' travel distance compare to AFC rivals?
Mike McCarthy's team will not only have the second-shortest travel distance of any team in the AFC North (next to the Cleveland Browns), but their 14,183 miles traveled in 2026 will be the third-lowest of any AFC team this year.
Their biggest rival, the Baltimore Ravens, will travel 17,422 miles, while arguably the toughest AFC opponent on their schedule, the New England Patriots, will travel 27,590 miles.
Here's what's most interesting: despite having nine away games on the schedule, the Steelers will only cross time zones twice. This will be for their international game in Paris against the New Orleans Saints, and for their game in Nashville against the Tennessee Titans.
Ironically, had the Steelers not been given an international game this year, they would have barely crossed into Central Time for their games against the Saints and Titans. Pittsburgh has no games out west or on the West Coast this year, which greatly cuts down on the travel miles.
A short 2026 travel distance compared to their opponents only offers a small and subtle advantage, and it certainly does not guarantee any extra wins for the Pittsburgh Steelers. However, it's still worth noting. We'll find out soon enough if this plays a factor at all this season.
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