NFL Rule Affects Steelers' Travel Plans for Thursday Night Game Against Browns

Instead of traveling to Cleveland on Wednesday, Mike McCarthy thought it might be better for the  Steelers  to make the 2-hour bus ride on Thursday morning ahead of that night's game between the division rivals. An odd NFL rule, however, prohibited McCarthy from moving forward with that plan.

"We actually even had a conversation yesterday about sleeping in your own bed, you know, just because of the importance of sleep and so forth," McCarthy said . "Failed to realize that you have to be there at least 19 hours before the game. So that's not going to happen."

As McCarthy alluded to, the NFL apparently has a rule requiring visiting teams to arrive in the city hosting the upcoming game at least 19 hours before kickoff. McCarthy apparently either forgot about the rule or didn't know about it until this week.

In McCarthy's defense, there really wouldn't be much of a reason for him to focus on that rule prior to coming to Pittsburgh. The Packers and Cowboys (his previous two head coaching stops) are not within reasonable driving proximity from any of their opponents (Houston, which is roughly a 3.5-hour drive, is the closest NFL city to Dallas).

The Steelers are surely hoping that McCarthy's previous success on Thursday night will help them get their first-ever win in Cleveland on Thursday night. The Steelers are 0-4 in Cleveland on Thursday night and are 0-9 all-time in road Thursday night games against divisional foes.

Cleveland has a 6-1 record in home games against the Steelers since 2019. That stretch includes Thursday night wins over the Steelers in 2022 and in 2024.

McCarthy has an impressive 17-8 record on Thursday nights, including a 16-6 record on short weeks.

"Every one of those games was different," McCarthy said when he was asked about his success on Thursday night. "But I think the fact is, just from a planning perspective, you've been in so many of them. ... I think we have a good schedule. We have a good thought process. We adjust in the areas we feel like we need to adjust. We'll do the same this week."

Thursday night's game will determine which team is in first place in the AFC North through three weeks. Each AFC North team is 2-1, but the Steelers are technically in first place as the only team with a divisional win.

Both teams are coming into Thursday night's game with momentum. The Steelers are coming off a 30-27 win over the Bengals , marking the first time the offense has scored 10 or more points in the first quarter in 98 games. The Browns have won two consecutive games, which includes this past Sunday's 21-18 win over the Panthers . The win marked the second straight game where the Browns' defense held the opposition to under 20 points.

"We're looking forward to Thursday night football," said McCarthy, a Pittsburgh native who grew up watching the rivalry during some of its peak years during the 1970s. "It's going to be incredible. Thursday night, I've never not experienced an atmosphere that you would love to compete in, and it'll be that way when we get to Cleveland. It's going to be a battle. It's the Steelers versus the Browns. We know what that means. I grew up with that, and I'm looking forward to [coaching] in my first Pittsburgh-Cleveland football game."

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_Originally reported by [CBS Sports](https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/odd-nfl-rule-impacts-steelers-travel-thursday-night-football-browns/)._