The Pittsburgh Steelers secured a win against the Denver Broncos in Week 2. This checked some boxes for Head Coach Mike Tomlin, who has never beaten their Head Coach, Sean Payton before. He also hadn't won a game in Denver since 2009, despite beating the Broncos three times in a row at home.
Steelers captain and defensive tackle, Cameron Heyward was also relieved to get the win in Denver. Now in his 14th season, Heyward had played the Broncos five times before and, like Tomlin, had never beaten them in the Mile High City. On his podcast, Not Just Football Cam Heyward, he said that players often underestimate how tough it is to play in the high altitude. Even the most physically fit players can struggle when the air is thin and get caught off guard. That's exactly what happened to his teammate, T.J. Watt.
Watt has only played in Denver one other time during his sophomore season in 2018. Heyward's co-host, Hayden Walsh, said that he was surprised to see Watt after the game struggling to catch his breath.
"He was tired after that game," said Heyward. "I told him to get on the oxygen, bro. He was, you know, stubborn, 'Oh, I don't need that.' Then, in the last couple of plays, he's just jogging off the field, like he has no wind in his chest. It's tough in the altitude, and some guys think it's not that serious. Don't play around with it. You will be very surprised by it."
Empower Field in Denver is at a very high altitude of 5,280 feet, or one mile above sea level, which gives the home team a bit of an advantage. The Broncos players are accustomed to the altitude; their bodies have adjusted. However, visiting players have only a few days to adapt. They have to start the process of hydrating even before they travel. That reduces nausea or headaches caused by the altitude. They need to do longer warm-ups to help their lungs adjust. They must also be mentally strong, knowing they will feel tired more quickly and that the reduced oxygen will impair their aerobic performance.
Heyward suffers from asthma, and he told Walsh that he was determined not to let his asthma beat him or reduce his impact against the Broncos. He said he started by giving himself nebulizer treatments early and said he was a stickler for ensuring he did all he could. Whenever he was on the sideline, he said he immediately hooked up to the oxygen, sucking in as much as he could. He did a nebulizer treatment again during halftime.
Steelers Are Familiar With The Impact Altitude Can Have
Former Steelers safety Ryan Clark is all too familiar with the impact of Denver's altitude. In 2007, after arriving home from playing in Denver, Clark began to have intense stomach pain and developed a high fever. Clark has sickle cell anemia, which doesn't play nicely at high altitudes.
He was forced to have his gall bladder and spleen removed in two separate surgeries. His organs had begun to break down, a life-threatening complication of mixing his hereditary disorder and high altitude. He missed the rest of that season, but was able to return for the 2008 season, with explicit instruction to never play in Denver again.
Since that incident, Clark, who is now an analyst, has said that he thought he was going to die. His teammates gathered around his hospital bed, and Clark tried to reassure them, his wife and his children, that everything would be okay.
The Steelers, Tomlin, and Clark had to decide about him playing in Denver multiple times before the safety's retirement. Clark bounced back to good health and was playing like his old self. That led to him being medically cleared to play in Denver in 2009, but Tomlin deactivated Clark. He had to do the same thing for a preseason game in 2010, a 2011 playoff game, and the 2012 season opener.
