Artificial turf surfaces are under fire across the league, but not for injuries this time around.
On Sunday in Nashville, the Philadelphia Eagles faced the Tennessee Titans, and the temperature on the field reached 157 degrees, according to the television broadcast.
The turf has been under fire for a few years, with players pushing back because certain injuries seem less prominent on a grass playing surface. Philadelphia left tackle Jordan Mailata, the Eagles' NFL Players Association rep in 2025, said this is another reason the union should push for the league to do away with turf surfaces.
"I've never thought about how hot a stadium can be if it's turf. [The heat] just sits there and bounces up into you," Mailata said. "We've got to bring it up.
This is why we want all grass fields, to create a standard of play in the league where we're not putting players in dangerous positions if we don't have to."
Eagles offensive tackle Cam Jurgens said he went through several pairs of cleats because they were melting.
The air temperature at kickoff was 95 degrees with a heat index of 107, but in recent weeks, a heat dome has settled over Nashville, trapping the heat. Turf is usually 10-15 degrees hotter than the air temperature, but that big an increase is very unusual.
Titans safety Amani Hooker said that the midsoles of his cleats "melted completely off." Other cameras also captured water being poured onto cleats.
Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni would need an IV due to the heat.
The game will have to rank highly for players given the conditions they had to deal with, but it could spark another serious conversation about returning to grass surfaces in the future.
This article originally appeared on Touchdown Wire: Titans' home turf reaches 157 degrees melting cleats prompting IV's
