Jump to content
Vin

Steelers @ Chiefs

Recommended Posts

http://hosted.stats.com/fb/preview.asp?g=20170115012&home=12&vis=23

 

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The old saying goes that revenge is a dish best served cold. Last Sunday, in the wild-card round of the AFC playoffs, the Pittsburgh Steelers avenged a regular-season loss to the Miami Dolphins, and did it in quite frigid temperatures at Heinz Field, winning by 18 points.

 

This Sunday (8:20 p.m. ET, NBC), the revenge table is turned on the Steelers, as they travel to Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City to play the Chiefs in an AFC divisional round game. The start of the game was pushed back more than seven hours due to a ice storm expected to move through the area on Saturday night and Sunday morning.

 

Oddsmakers have listed the home team as a one-point favorite.

 

In the first days of October, the Chiefs traveled to Pittsburgh and got hammered by the Steelers, losing 43-14 in a Sunday night game. The 29-point deficit was one of the season's biggest blowout defeats suffered by a team that eventually made the playoffs. That loss left the Chiefs 2-2 on the season, but afterward it won 10 of the next 12 games and captured an AFC West division title.

 

But that game was a complete meltdown for the Chiefs and they are determined to back up their AFC No. 2 seeding by paying back the visiting Steelers.

 

"There are important matters in front of us now," said K.C. quarterback Alex Smith. "There are a lot of emotions this time of year. Everybody's put in a lot of work and sacrifice to have these kinds of opportunities."

 

After getting their revenge against the Dolphins, the Steelers know what they will face in Kansas City.

 

"We have to understand that the same passion and dedication that we put in to beat Miami, that's how Kansas City is going to try to beat us," said Pittsburgh running back Le'Veon Bell. "We have to put that much more time into our detail. We have to do all the little things right because they're going to try to take the things away that we did well last game and make us beat them a different way."

 

Bell ran for 167 yards and two touchdowns last week against Miami. It was a record-setting rushing performance in Pittsburgh postseason history. Back in October, Bell put up 144 yards on 18 carries against Kansas City.

 

"He has a unique style about him -- that delay to get to the line of scrimmage," Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said of Bell. "It's been effective for him. He's really the only one that does it, so it's unique. The obvious thing is you have to contain him and take care of your gaps."

 

Pittsburgh is riding an eight-game winning streak and an AFC North title with more than just Bell. Wide receiver Antonio Brown was among the league leaders in catches (106), receiving yards (1,284) and touchdown receptions (12) for the fourth consecutive year. Brown had the first two touchdowns against Miami, connecting with quarterback Ben Roethlisberger on scoring plays of 50 and 62 yards. When these teams met earlier, the Steelers' quarterback threw five touchdown passes to four different receivers.

 

The Chiefs can test the Pittsburgh defense with big plays from wide receiver Tyreek Hill and tight end Travis Kelce. Over Kansas City's last six games, Hill and Kelce scored seven total touchdowns and contributed 45 percent of the offensive yards (470 of 2,150.)

 

"He is as dynamic as any tight end in football right now," Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said of Kelce. "He is a matchup issue -- too athletic for linebackers, too big and strong often times for secondary people. Hill's contributions have evolved since we played them. Now, he is very much a part of their routine offensive attack. He is an impactful guy and his speed and bursts are unique."

 

The quarterback matchup is actually pretty even. In the regular season, Roethlisberger had 29 touchdown passes compared to Smith's 15, but the Chiefs' quarterback threw eight interceptions compared to 13 for the Steelers' passer. Big Ben has a big edge in postseason experience, playing in his 19th game. Smith will make his sixth start, but he has an interception percentage of 0.5 percent in the postseason, the top mark in league history for passers that attempted at least 150 passes.

 

Roethlisberger was expected to play with no limitations despite aggravating an old foot injury in the victory over Miami.

 

"You have to play good football and do what got you here," said Reid, with an 11-11 record in the postseason. "There is not a lot of room for error. That's just not what this time of the year is about. You have to have good line play on both sides of the ball. That's what you get this time of the year."

 

There's no time for revenge either said Tomlin.

 

"We don't care about the nameless gray faces we're playing right now," said Tomlin, who has a 7-5 mark in the playoffs. "This is man versus himself. We're trying to do what's required to win. We're not trying to settle vendettas and things of that nature. What happened during the regular season is of little importance. What is important is that you do enough to get out of these stadiums and advance."

 

 

 

Zero chance this game is a blowout like their earlier meeting this season.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I like the Chiefs at home but LeVeon Bell could eat with how scared the Chiefs will be of the deep ball. Should be a great game.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I like the Chiefs at home but LeVeon Bell could eat with how scared the Chiefs will be of the deep ball. Should be a great game.

 

Tyreek Hill is hungry too.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Very intriguing matchup. Big Ben seems to always show up in the biggest games, but he's been turning the ball over a lot lately, which is not a good thing to combine with a matchup involving Eric Berry and Marcus Peters. The Steelers have the upper hand in past playoff success over the Chiefs, but the Chiefs have delivered more consistently this year. Most people want to see Patriots Steelers, myself included.

 

:Steelers: 26

:Chiefs: 19

Edited by BC

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I think we win this one. Alex Smith has to be on his A game for KC to win. They have a good defense but they can't keep our playmakers in check for a whole game. Our defense is, and has been, better than people give it credit for, especially after week 9 or so.

 

:Steelers: 27

 

:Chiefs: 20

  • Downvote 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Alex Smith is usually pretty good in the playoffs... 11-1 TD INT ratio in his career. He could do better accuracy wise though.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Zack is travelling to the game so...

 

:Chiefs: 44

:Steelers: 10

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Game of the week.... please?

 

Pack-Boys could be good, sure. We need one dammit!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Andy Reid is about to...outcoach Mike Tomlin???

 

No, but the Chiefs will win.

 

:Chiefs: 17

:Steelers: 13

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Glad we won but man, Ben really was not that good at ALL. He needs to be a lot better if we want to have a shot at the upset @ NE. Never thought we would win another game in the playoffs in spite of him.

 

 

Bell the gawd, Harrison the gawd, Shazier the gawd...

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Ben is just channeling that 05 magic, getting his team to put him on their backs...

  • Upvote 1
  • Downvote 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

CURSE IS BROKEN, MOTHERFUCKERS!!!

 

 

Ben raped in the '05 playoffs outside of the SB. They don't make it there without him. It's disingenuous for you to knowingly spout bullshit, Razor.

  • Upvote 2

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Never forget Fast Willie Parker...

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

That Chiefs defense will make a lot of qb's look bad

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Looks like the Chiefs LUCK ran out. Should have been a blow out tbh.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/eagles/20170116_Andy_Reid_kicking_himself_after_Steelers_oust_Chiefs.html

 

Post-game reading: a piece on Andy Reid by Les Bowen, an Eagles beat writer who covered the Eagles during Reid's entire tenure in Philadelphia, detailing why yesterday's game was reminiscent of many Eagles games under Reid. Basically, this is why Eagles fans have said, "He'll never win a Super Bowl" for so long.

  • Upvote 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

some crazy stats from Mike & Mike: the Steelers are the first team in NFL history to win a playoff game in which their opponent scored at least two more TDs than they did, also the Steelers are the first team with a 175 yard rusher and a 100 yard receiver without a TD, regular or post-season

  • Upvote 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Honestly by the end of the 3rd quarter I was raging hard. I thought it was beyond stupid how we didn't get a TD.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Steelers will find the end zone in Foxborough but the Pats are just so hard to beat at home. Steelers defense has played better and better all year though. I think match ups wise and football wise they definitely have a fighting chance. Overall they might even be a better football team but Tomlin vs Belichick....yikes. You might want to start looking at some draft prospects like Eagles vans since like week 10 lol

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Bud Dupree has been awesome since he came back from injury. People who called him a bust after his rookie year look pretty dumb right now. We're back to having the best LB corps in the league. All 4 of the starters just fly around making plays all over the field. Shazier is amazing, Harrison is still amazing. Timmons is solid. He might actually be our "worst" LB now. We'll need them to keep it up @ NE.

  • Upvote 2

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now

  • Chatbox

    TGP has moved to Discord (sorta) - https://discord.gg/JkWAfU3Phm

    Load More
    You don't have permission to chat.
×