How to Beat the Steelers: Rub, Sauce, and Smoke
We have a big game coming up and it is on the national stage. This will be our first real test of the season. Although each of the first three games had some surprising component, they are in the books and the Chiefs sit at 2-1. We are now looking forward to the game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. This is a team that started the season as a top-rated team. However, they are also 2-1 and coming off a game where the Philadelphia Eagles owned them.
Rub – Opinions from the media and stats from the league
After week three, here are the polls from a couple of sources.
Sports Illustrated – KC 5 (up from 13) – Pitt 6 (down from 3)
ESPN – KC 12 (down from 11) – Pitt 9 (down from 2)
USA Today – KC 13 – Pitt 6
CBS Sports – KC 12 (up from 15) – Pitt 6 (down from 3)
Based on these, the people that know football think we aren’t at the same level of play as the Steelers. However, if you look at the stats to date, the two teams are very similar. Our defenses are our strengths and our offense tries to be just good enough.
The stats that stand out as different are turnovers (KC is better on both sides of the ball), sacks (Pitt allows fewer), 3rd downs (Pitt is good on both sides of the ball), Red Zone conversions (KC is tops in the league on stopping them, while Pitt is good on both sides of the ball), and Points Per Game (KC defense has the edge here).
Sauce – What’s in it?
Pittsburgh Offense
Ben Roethlisberger – #24 QB, 66.6 Overall, 55.2 Pass, 75.9 Run,
Antonio Brown – #9 WR, 82.5 Overall, 82.4 Receiving, 73.3 Run Block,
Le’Veon Bell – Not yet rated
Pittsburgh Defense
William Gay – #18 CB, 80.1 Overall, 80.4 Cover, 78.4 Run Def, 55.6 Pass Rush
Ross Cockrell – #21 CB, 79.4 Overall, 79.7 Cover, 43.5 Run Def, 57.6 Pass Rush
Robert Golden – #15 S, 81.5 Overall, 83.5 Cover, 71.5 Run Def, 57.1 Pass Rush
Cameron Heyward – #29 DL, 75.5 Overall, 50.6 Run Def, 74.0 Pass Rush, 61.7 Cover
James Harrison – #30 End, 75.5 Overall, 68.6 Pass Rush, 69.5 Run Def, 75.6 Cover
Kansas City Offense
Alex Smith – #13 QB, 77.5 Overall, 78.1 Pass, 47.9 Run
Jeremy Maclin – #67 WR, 63.4 Overall, 64.0 Pass, 46.9 Run Block
Chris Conley – #50 WR, 69.7 Overall, 68.0 Pass, 73.8 Run Block
Travis Kelce – #5 TE, 81.7 Overall, 80.8 Receive, 43.4 Run Block, 67.5 Pass Block
Spencer Ware – #22 HB, 68.4 Overall, 55.9 Run, 86.8 Receive, 74.1 Pass Block
Kansas City Defense
Marcus Peters – #6 CB, 85.0 Overall, 85.6 Cover, 82.3 Run Def, 60.0 Pass Rush
Eric Berry – #20 S, 79.6 Overall, 78.2 Cover, 76.5 Run Def, 56.4 Pass Rush
Ron Parker – #23 S, 78.8 Overall, 80.6 Cover, 65.3 Run Def, 57.6 Pass Rush
Derrick Johnson – #12 LB, 85.4 Overall, 50.7 Run Def, 89.2 Cover, 60.0 Pass Rush
Dontari Poe – #14 DL, 80.4 Overall, 80.2 Run Def, 68.9 Pass Rush, 60.7 Cover
Tamba Hali – #7 End, 78.8 Pass Rush, 80.8 Run Def, 67.3 Cover
Smoke – How do we cook up this game plan?
Looking over the top players, it would seem our lines match up slightly better than theirs. This will be important if we are going to have success on both sides of the ball. The game will be won or lost based on the key matchups of the skill positions.
If our DBs can contain Antonio Brown and our DL/LB can stop Le’Veon Bell, then we have a shot. Seems pretty obvious, but I don’t see much strength after these two. Since Marcus Peters lines up on the left, this may be an issue for us. Should this be the week that we tweak our game plan and have Peters play Brown all game?
From our offensive side of the ball, we need to put in a heavy dose of the run game. Their run defense has some holes and Spencer Ware and Charcandrick West are very capable. We will also need to focus the passing game on Travis Kelce, RBs out of the backfield, and Tyreek Hill from the slot. We should see the best matchups there. If we can get these two going, it may open up the WRs a bit for an opportunistic score.
In the end, this should be a defensive battle, with the team that capitalizes on turnovers coming out the victor. With the game being held in Pittsburgh, I have to give them the edge.
What do you guys think? Standard game plan to get good matchups? Or, do we surprise them and go right at their strengths? Will Bell be rusty? Can we slow down Brown?
I am looking forward to this one and hoping we can put together a great game plan and have the players execute. Unfortunately, we have to wait until Sunday night.
And there’s The Rub.
