Steelers Safe After Team Plane Unexpectedly Diverted to Kansas City After Raiders Win

The Pittsburgh Steelers encountered some unexpected trouble on their way back home from Sunday night's 23-18 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders.

Burt Lauten, the team's senior director of communications, announced the Steelers' team plane was diverted to Kansas City for an undisclosed reason.

"Everyone on the plane is safe, and we are making necessary plans to arrive back in Pittsburgh later today," he said.

According to Michael Gant of KMBC News, the plane made an emergency landing at Kansas City International Airport at 3:57 a.m. A replacement plane was expected to arrive at 9:30 a.m. to transport the Steelers to Pittsburgh. However, Dianna Russini of The Athletic reported that was delayed:

Per Mike Darnay of KDKA News, two of his colleagues, Rich Walsh and Ian Smith, were on the flight and reported one of the plane's engines had an oil pressure issue that necessitated the emergency landing.

Steelers defensive tackle Cam Heyward made light of the situation on social media:

As of 11:04 a.m. ET on Monday, the Steelers had made their way onto a new plane:

The team made it safely back to Pittsburgh early in the afternoon on Monday, according to NFL insider Jordan Schultz:

The Steelers improved to 2-1 with their Week 3 win.

Quarterback Kenny Pickett had his best game of the season, finishing 16-of-28 for 235 yards and two touchdowns. The ground game continued to struggle, though, as Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren combined for 94 yards on 27 carries.

Pittsburgh's defense was ultimately the difference.

The Raiders only came away with a field goal inside the final minute from a 1st-and-10 at the Steelers' 14-yard line, and Levi Wallace's interception—his team's third—was the final blow for Las Vegas.

The Steelers will hit the road again in Week 4 for a matchup with the Houston Texans.