First look at Kansas City Chiefs’ wild-card playoff opponent: the Pittsburgh Steelers
It’ll be a rematch for the Kansas City Chiefs in their wild-card playoff game.
The Chiefs’ shot at the No. 1 seed in the AFC vanished Sunday in the Lone Star State as the Tennessee Titans beat the Texans in Houston. That gave the Titans the top seed in the postseason, based on their victory over the Chiefs in October.
That outcome was expected, but the Jaguars’ blowout win over the Colts certainly wasn’t.
Indianapolis’ shocking loss opened the door for the Pittsburgh Steelers (9-7-1) to grab the final spot in the playoffs. And they did just that with a 16-13 overtime win in Baltimore.
It’s been quite a turnaround for the Steelers, who fell to .500 after a 36-10 loss to the Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium on Dec. 26.
“When we played Kansas City, to see the difference in that locker room (Sunday). You could hear a pin drop that week after that game,” Cam Hayward said, per The Athletic. “Guys worked their tails off. It hasn’t been perfect but, man, we grind out these wins. We’re just hungry. Just give us a shot.”
That grind-it-out mentality seems to be the Steelers’ calling card this season. All but one of their nine victories has been by one score.
“We just like to stress people out early,” Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger joked Sunday. “Yeah, I have no idea. I think it shows something about this team though that you can continue to fight and never give up.”
Knowing they can come back is important, but the Steelers will look to keep things closer this time against the Chiefs. In the first meeting the Chiefs scored the game’s first 30 points.
Here’s a quick look at the Steelers ahead of the playoff meeting with the Chiefs, which will kick off at 7:15 p.m. Central time Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium and will be televised on NBC.
The offense
Although he hasn’t announced his future plans, this season is Roethlisberger’s swan song, and he ended the regular season by getting the Steelers into the playoffs.
Roethlisberger led a touchdown drive in the fourth quarter and guided the Steelers on a 15-play, 65-yard drive in overtime to set up the winning field goal. That included a 10-yard pass to Ray-Ray McCloud on a fourth-and-8 play.
But Roethlisberger, 39, has only an 86.8 quarterback rating with 22 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He had only 159 passing yards when the Steelers lost to the Chiefs on Dec. 26.
Pittsburgh has the 21st ranked scoring offense (20.2 points per game), with a passing attack ranked 15th and they’re 29th in rushing.
Rookie Najee Harris, who rushed for 1,200 yards this season, briefly left Sunday’s game because of an elbow injury. He is expected to face the Chiefs. One note on Harris: he has yet to fumble in his career.
The defense
The Ravens gouged the Steelers to the tune of 249 rushing yards on Sunday, marking the third time in their last five games they had allowed more than 200 yards.
Pittsburgh allowed 24 rushing plays of 20 or more yards, which was by far the worst in the NFL.
The Chiefs ran for 127 yards against the Steelers, who finished the season with the worst rushing defense.
Pittsburgh’s T.J. Watt on Sunday tied the NFL’s all-time single-season sack record (22 1/2), but he didn’t have one against the Chiefs. He’ll be a focus for the Chiefs on Sunday.
The Steelers’ pass defense was ninth in the NFL, but allowed 258 yards and three touchdowns to Patrick Mahomes in their December meeting.
This story was originally published January 10, 2022 at 9:00 AM.
