It'll Be a 'Surreal' Night as the Edmunds Family Heads to Pittsburgh
PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Steelers vs Buffalo Bills Week 15 matchup has more stories surrounding it than this team has seen all season. Despite a third-string quarterback looking for his fourth win as a starter, two head coaches meeting for the first time since being college teammates and a possible playoff seed on the line, the biggest story of the week comes from a family of brothers who are set to the make NFL history.
For the first time in league history, not two, but three brothers will meet on the field at the same time. Terrell, Trey and Tremaine Edmunds are bringing "a bus" of family and friends to Heinz Field as they turn Week 15 in Pittsburgh into a family outing.
“It’s going to be exciting. Something we talked about, but never knew would actually happen,” Terrell Edmunds said. “For all of us to be out there on the field, it’s a blessing. The whole family is going to be here. Everybody is going to be here. It’s going to be exciting. We have to go do it."
Terrell said his family plans to bring over 30 people to the game on Sunday. His brother and teammate, Trey, gave mom credit for planning everything, saying he left them "focus on football" while she prepared to bring the crowd for all three brothers.
It's a situation that could leave plenty of questions. Who is everyone rooting for? Which jersey is mom wearing? If the moment happens, how excited does the family get if Trey runs over Tremaine, or vice versa?
While the brothers didn't know which jerseys the family would represent, Trey was excited to hear about the possibility of meeting his brother in the hole. Tremaine, a former first-round pick, has 97 tackles this season. Trey, an undrafted running back, has found success in Pittsburgh during an injury-filled season. And if their paths cross on Sunday night, they'll both be looking to get that upper hand.
“I’m definitely going to do that," Trey said. "That’s my job. I’m sure he’s going to try to run through me. That’s his job. When that whistle blows, it’s all competition at that point. It’s love, but it’s still competition. Everybody wants to win. Everybody wants to make plays.”
The Edmunds brothers may live a few hours apart but they still talk each day. This week, the conversation has a little smack talk in it but mostly, in the midst of this crazy matchup, they're trying to figure out the fan situation for the bus they're bringing.
“We talk every day,” Terrell said. “We don’t talk about football all day every day, but we definitely talked about the game and trying to figure out which family member is going to wear which jersey.”
Now, like a lot of siblings, they're fans of each other's work. Trey and Terrell are rooting for their bother when they aren't involved, but this week is different. The Steelers brothers don't want Tremaine to do enough to alter the game, but it's impossible to not feel good about your brother playing well on Sunday night.
“We’ve got to make sure we limit how many plays he makes against us,” Terrell said. “Of course, I want him to do well, but I want to win, too.”
As for their parents and the two-dozen fans they'll have rooting for them in the stands, Trey says he's excited about his family and friends getting to experience this moment. From sitting at the kitchen table talking about the success they'd one-day have to this weekend, moments like these don't happen often.
He knows they'll be thrilled watching. For mom, dad and the rest of the crew - no matter who wins - they get to leaving knowing they just witnessed one of their family's best moments.
“If you ask me, they are going to find a way to enjoy it,” Trey said. “They can’t lose. If they are stressing more than us, I don’t know what to tell them at this point. It’s a surreal moment. Their emotions are going to be everywhere. Our emotions are going to be everywhere. At the end of the day, they can’t lose, so they’re going to be walking out of the stadium smiling.”
