Although the Pittsburgh Steelers had an unexpected diversion on their trip home from Las Vegas on Monday morning, coach Mike Tomlin doesn’t want it to be a distraction as his team prepares for another road journey.

The Steelers’ charter flight spent about eight hours on the tarmac in Kansas City because of a mechanical issue that forced an emergency landing on the team’s return from a 23-18 victory at Las Vegas. The team didn’t arrive in Pittsburgh until about 1:20 p.m. Monday.

“We’re going to make it a non-issue,” Tomlin said Tuesday at his weekly press conference. “It’s in our rearview now. As I stand here today, it’s a non-factor.”

Before departing Las Vegas, the Steelers already had tweaked their practice schedule, moving their Wednesday session to the afternoon so the team could devote that morning to watching film from the victory against the Raiders.

Players were given off the rest of Monday, and Tuesday is their customary day off during the week. The Steelers will travel to Houston this weekend to face the Texans at 1 p.m. Sunday.

“I’ve got so many days and hours to prepare,” Tomlin said. “We have not lost any physical preparation opportunity with our football team or classroom opportunity with our football team. (The layover) created a few hours yesterday and today that our staff has to absorb from a preparation standpoint, although technology was a component of that.

“My desire is that as we move away from it, we talk less about it because I don’t want it to be an excuse in any way or some galvanizing thing in any way.”

Tomlin said he used the extra time on the airplane to get some sleep and then begin preparation for the game against the Texans.

“Thankfully because of technology, iPads and so forth, we can move on,” he said. “After I got a nap, I did.”

About that mojo

Unsolicited, Tomlin talked about the Steelers offense needing to get is “mojo” back during his opening remarks at his weekly press conference a week ago.

On the heels of the Steelers’ offense piecing together its best game of the season, Tomlin was asked whether that mojo had been rediscovered. It turns out that Tomlin doesn’t actually believe mojo exists.

“The guys that know me, they know there is nothing mystical about performance from my mentality,” he said. “We work, we improve and then we go play. Sometimes, that cycle doesn’t come quick enough.”

Tomlin said he had grown tired of answering questions about the way the offense sputtered through the first two weeks and used the word to appease the media.

“We’ve got to stand in settings like this and absorb a lot of questions, and they get repetitive,” he said. “And so I gave you a little something. Don’t subscribe to mojo or intangible-like things and all of that BS. We just got to work hard or we’ve got to put together better plans. The guys have to understand those plays and make subsequent plays. Oftentimes, when I’m asked questions along those lines, those are the answers I give and you guys keep asking the same questions. So I just give you something like mojo so you can run with it.”

Injury update

Tomlin said the Steelers sustained no serious injuries in the win at Las Vegas. Right guard James Daniels could be limited in practice because of a groin injury and wide receiver Allen Robinson is dealing with a minor ankle injury. Punter Pressley Harvin is dealing with a hamstring issue.

To listen to what Tomlin had to say at his press conference, go to the Steelers Facebook page.

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