Killer B’s spell curtains for Chiefs

On this play the blitz didn’t work. Tamba Hali got a hand on Ben Roethlisberger’s leg, but that’s not nearly enough to pull down the Steelers’ strong quarterback.

Roethlisberger stepped up in the pocket during the first quarter of Sunday night’s AFC playoff game and saw No. 84, his favorite target Antonio Brown, streaking down field and let it fly.

All stood between Brown and a touchdown were a slightly underthrown ball and the charging approach of outside linebacker Justin Houston, who somehow found himself in single coverage on Brown once the blitz failed.

Houston made the tackle after a 52-yard gain, preventing the touchdown. The Steelers banged in yet another field goal, but Houston made perhaps his best play of the night.

But it wasn’t enough to prevent the Chiefs from falling 18-16, allowing the Steelers to advance to the AFC championship game next week at New England.

“No,” Houston said when asked if he was the defender responsible for Brown. “We had pressure, we had a sack. But it didn’t happen. That was a play we left out on the field.”

There were several of those, Houston said, in all phases. Players in the dejected Chiefs locker room tried to explain how a season with so much momentum died in Arrowhead Stadium. Houston turned philosophical.

“Everything happens for a reason,” Houston said. “It wasn’t our time. We have to prepare better. I felt like we left a lot of plays out on the field that we should have made. But we didn’t. It’s the playoffs, every play counts.”

It had been more than a month since Houston, the sack specialist, stepped on the field. He missed the first nine games while recovering from off-season knee surgery, played in five, then sat out the final two.

As the postseason approached, coach Andy Reid voiced optimism about Houston’s return, and he was there in the starting lineup, with Dee Ford as the outside linebacker on other side.

“I felt great, no pain in my knee,” Houston said. “I was chasing Antonio Brown, so I wasn’t feeling too bad.”

Houston was busy and drew plenty of attention including double teams, but on a night when Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell dominated the action, Houston was almost powerless to have much of an impact.

Bell rushed for 170 yards, his second straight monster postseason game. He set the team playoff record of 167 yards in last week’s wild card round victory over the Miami Dolphins. Two weeks, two rushing records for Bell.

On a cold, wet night at Arrowhead, the Steelers relied on Bell’s powerful and shifty running style instead of Roethlisberger’s strong arm. But when Roethlisberger dropped back, he had time to throw. The Chiefs hardly generated pressure.

Their only sack occurred with about 10 minutes remaining when Roethlisberger couldn’t find an open receiver and Jarvis Jenkins and Dee Ford pulled him down.

The Chiefs best pass defense came on plays after the ball left Roethlisberger’s hands. Three of his passes were tipped at the line and one led to the Chiefs’ lone takeaway.

Pittsburgh had driven to the 5 midway through the second quarter when Roethlisberger dropped back. He looked for Brown in the end zone, but outside linebacker Frank Zombo leaped and got a hand on the ball that fluttered to the end zone.

Waiting on his knees to make the interception was safety Eric Berry. He thought for a moment of running it out, perhaps recalling his huge play in Atlanta when he returned a two-point conversion pass for a two-pointer in the Chiefs one-point victory.

This time, Berry stayed down for the touchback and the Steelers were denied the touchdown. But not the victory.

This story was originally published January 15, 2017 at 10:35 PM with the headline "Killer B’s spell curtains for Chiefs."