MAYNOOTH, Ireland — Aaron Rodgers, who has a family history that traces to Irish roots, said he would have preferred to come to Ireland earlier to see some of the country and its historic sites. And, oh yeah, taste a Guinness right off the tap.

"I've always wanted to get over here," Rodgers said shortly after the Steelers arrived at their team hotel Friday morning. "If I could have chosen to get over on Monday, Tuesday, get out and see some things, it's a beautiful country."

Then he added, "I'm a huge fan of Guinness. I don't really drink beer, but if I do, I drink Guinness. I hear it tastes different off the tap in Ireland."

The Steelers are effectively following the same travel schedule they used the last time they played an international game in 2013. That was also against the Minnesota Vikings, a 34-27 loss in which they started slow and complained afterward about the effects of jet lag.

But they adjusted their practice schedule this week and encouraged the players to change their sleeping habits to get ready for Sunday's 9:30 a.m. (ET) game.

According to the NFL, each team can choose to decide how early or late in the week they want to arrive for an international game. Sometimes, those decisions by the team are based on hotel and practice availability.

"It was a football decision," said team president/owner Art Rooney II. "I would've liked to have the guys over here for a few more days, too. But we're in the middle of the season, so we have to do what's best for the football side of things."

Coach Mike Tomlin said he is "comfortable where we are right now" regarding the team's travel schedule.

"We started the process at the top of the week," said Tomlin, who said he slept on the six-hour team flight to Dublin. "We started our day Wednesday and Thursday about 90 minutes early. We encouraged everyone to get up early and then, on the other end, go to bed early. Hopefully, we're able to stay on our feet all day [Friday] and complete the process of acclimating."

Asked if he learned anything about the previous time the Steelers played overseas, Tomlin said, "There have been so many organizations that have played internationally since then. Just in informal conversations, I think we all in the National Football League have a better understanding of the acclimation process. It's certainly less mystical today than it was 12 years ago."

Four hours after arriving at the Carton House, their weekend Irish headquarters, the Steelers held a 90-minute practice on the two regulation football fields at the resort. In a tribute to their location, the Steelers practice jerseys had each player's name in Gaelic. The idea was courtesy of equipment manager Adam Regan.

Inside linebacker Patrick Queen is no stranger to international games. He played in London in 2023 when he was with the Baltimore Ravens. The team arrived in England six days early and had a day to themselves to explore the city and sightsee.

But he doesn't think arriving just two days before the game makes a difference — at least, not to him.

"I think it's all a personal thing," Queen said as he walked off the practice field. "It's how well you recover, how things affect you. Me, personally, I'm not really affected by anything."

Asked if he followed Tomlin's directive about sleeping, Queen said, "I don't go to sleep early. I don't sleep long. I've always been that way."

Rodgers has played two international games in his career — with the Green Bay Packers in 2022 and last season with the New York Jets, coincidentally against the Minnesota Vikings. He is 0-2 in those games.

He said he'll find out if all the pre-acclimation stuff the Steelers went through during the week will work.

"We'll see if that helps or not," Rodgers said. "By the time you get to Saturday, you usually feel energetically pretty good. But it's 60 minutes. Suck it up for three hours."

This, though, is a new experience for receiver Calvin Austin, who he is learning quickly about some of the differences already after arriving at the Carton House, the team's Ireland headquarters.

"You know, it can affect the team if you allow it to affect you," Austin said. "I mean, both teams had to travel and, at the end of the day, we'll be playing football. Some guys may be tired or whatever, but at the end of the day we get to get out on the field and play a game we love.

"I think regardless how people are feeling today or when they wake up, I think when we get out on there on the field, we'll all be flying."

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