Week 13 of the NFL season has seen a little bit of everything at this point. Some surprise upsets, complete blowouts, and now, a weather delay. The Pittsburgh Steelers and Arizona Cardinals went into halftime with the Cardinals leading 10-3.
However, the broadcast announced shortly thereafter that fans were also heading for cover. What happened in the Steelers and Cardinals game?
Steelers and Cardinals Severe Weather Delay
As the Steelers and Cardinals did battle in the second quarter, weather started to become a factor. Wind and rain picked up as halftime approached. Regardless, Arizona was able to go down the field for a 99-yard drive to take a 10-3 lead with 15 seconds left in the half.
Officials then asked for fans in the exposed areas inside Acrisure Stadium to take cover in the concourse. All in all, it ended up being a 30-minute weather delay. The broadcast said that players spent the extra time trying to remain loose and listening to music in the locker rooms.
Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate much more in the second half. The Cardinals marched down the field in the first eight minutes to score another TD, making it 17-3. Then, fans were instructed to once again take cover due to the weather.
The second delay started at 3:39 p.m. ET. That was just 19 minutes after the game originally resumed at 3:20 p.m. ET.
At 4:19 p.m. ET, the rain stopped and a rainbow formed in the stadium. Shortly after the rain stopped, the Steelers announced that the game would resume at 4:30 p.m. ET.
A rainbow has a folks cheering inside the stadium. pic.twitter.com/1Tm2uXjrtT
— Donny Football (@DonChed54) December 3, 2023
This might sound bad, but even with two weather delays so far, it is nothing compared to the record for the longest weather delay in NFL history. That game, which resulted in a 27-20 Miami win, lasted seven hours and eight minutes due to severe lightning issues.
Kenny Pickett Injury
Unfortunately, the extra time did not change much when it came to Kenny Pickett’s injury status. Pickett stayed down on the field after a second-quarter rushing attempt on a 3rd-and-goal from Arizona’s 3-yard line. He took a hit to his right leg on the play, was slow to get up, and eventually went down again.
#Steelers QB Kenny Pickett has to be helped off the field after diving for the endzone at the end of this run.
pic.twitter.com/aK8iJPyaXc— Pro Football Network (@PFN365) December 3, 2023
Pickett was finally able to walk off the field under his own power, but he was noticeably limping.
Pickett had completed seven of 10 attempts for 70 yards before departing. Mitchell Trubisky hasn’t started a game in 2023, but he’d gone 18 of 32 for 156 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions in relief.
Want to predict the rest of the 2023 season with our FREE NFL Playoff Predictor? Looking for the most up-to-date NFL standings? What about a breakdown of team depth charts or the NFL schedule? Pro Football Network has you covered with that and more!