Pittsburgh, Pa. (93.7 The Fan/WGR 550) - Sunday's weather forecast looks like something out of a movie.
There are Winter Storm Warnings, Flood Warnings, even a High Wind Warnings with potential sustained winds around 60 miles-an-hour in Buffalo over the weekend. That’s not counting the unpredictable lake effect potential for 1-3 feet of snow.
That is what the Pittsburgh Steelers are scheduled to play in on Sunday against the Buffalo Bills, with more snow expected during the afternoon contest in Western New York.
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"I saw the weather. It’s going to be bad," said Steelers wide receiver Diontae Johnson. "I just look at it as me playing in college again being up in Toledo. I’ve experienced that weather before, so I’m used to it. I know what to expect."
"I know what type of day it’s going to be," said tailback Najee Harris. "I kind of mentally prepare myself for that."
Harris is from California and played collegiately at the University of Alabama. The worst weather he said he played in was in Baltimore last week. He says a lot of guys in the Steelers room have played in bad weather, and it’s not a factor, especially since they live in Pittsburgh.
"We are happy to be in these environments. It kind of separates the guys that want to be in it," Harris said. "It’s a mentality thing. We are excited about the opportunity we have."
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Others have seconded that it’s more about mentality than anything else.
"It’s really no preparing," said tackle Dan Moore, Jr. "It’s mentally getting yourself in that mentality and make a decision that you are not going to let it affect you."
"It starts with the mental approach," said tight end Connor Heyward, who said he played in a number of rough weather games at Michigan State University. "Who wants to be out there. It’s going to be one of those games like last week. I’ve played in a bunch of those games with weather in college. You just have to be able to hold onto and possess the ball."
'Smile in the face of it," said All-Pro Miles Killebrew. "To go out there and say it’s windy for both of us. It’s cold for both of us, but it affects us less than you. Let’s go."
"At the end of the day, it’s all in-between the ears," said veteran defensive back Patrick Peterson. "That noise at the end of the day, you have to block that out because we have a job to do. There are only so many teams that have this opportunity. We can’t have the weather have an effect on us."
"The bottom line is we line up and we line up to play," said defensive coordinator Teryl Austin. "When we line up on that field, we line up to win.
Doesn't matter whether it's rain, sleet, snow, doesn't matter."
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"It don’t matter," said safety Minkah Fitzpatrick. "We got a job to do either way. Whether it’s rainbows and sunshine or a blizzard."
First-year tackle Broderick Jones says the climate doesn’t matter, it’s about them executing. They need to set the tone early and be physical.
Make it colder and windier for Buffalo than it is for them. Make them want to go back inside. They feel if they can do that, regardless of the conditions, it will be the playoff upset of the weekend.