Chiefs Game Review: K.C. Handily Massacres Pittsburgh

David Bell

The Kansas City Chiefs spanked the Pittsburgh Steelers, 42-to-21 with 7 of those points coming from the Steelers defense.

The Day Held Surprises

The Dallas Cowboys were upset by the San Francisco 49ers, 23-to-17. This did not surprise my son Ian , in Katy, Texas, who predicted this upset. The first game of the day was so ho-hum that I didn’t even watch the 4th quarter. Tampa truly beat up on the Eagles even though QB Jalen Hurts scored two touchdowns in the 4th Quarter. The Eagles were outclassed in all three phases of the game. Then there is Tom Brady. What can you say? In the Dallas game, the Cowboys made it interesting, but played pretty inept football for most.

Steelers Beginning

As you might have expected, the Steelers got off to a blazing start, forced to punt on their first two possessions. On the other hand, the Chiefs were stymied on their possession as well, sandwiched between the two Steelers series. What I think is noteworthy about the second Steelers’ possession is that the snaps went to 3rd down and 2. Big Ben dropped back to pass and #98, Tershawn Wharton got Ben Roethlisberger in the grasp for a sack, forcing a punt. On the Punt,

Mecole Hardman had a great punt return inside the Pittsburgh 25, only to have Patrick Mahomes first pass get tipped by TJ Watt no less, which was intercepted. This was one of those finesse, soft passes, and Mahomes didn’t get it high enough to get it over to the receiver. We have seen him throw similar Interceptions already this season. Sheesh. By this time, my stomach is roiling.

As the quarter rolled on, I kept looking for the vaunted and powerful Chief’s offense. On the 3rd Steeler possession, the Chiefs again forced a punt. At least the defense showed up in the 1st quarter and Spagnuolo appeared to have them all keyed in on the roles to play.

One thing you can say about both teams is that they were playing ferocious defense in the first quarter. What I was seeing in the first quarter was that Mecole Hardman was “All In”… at the same time, I am not seeing Kansas City’s big guns — Hill and Kelce — do much of anything. Finally, as the quarter was closing, down, and after a motion penalty on the OL, Mahomes hit Demarcus Robinson at the 45 for a first down sat the 47. As the quarter finished, the Chiefs tried a pass to Byron Pringle, which fell incomplete. The Chiefs punted to end the quarter. Heavens, they were off to a “fine” start as the second quarter opens, and it’s the Steelers ball at the 18-yard line.

I was very disappointed in the Chiefs offense in the 1st quarter.

Hey Chiefs! You’re Playing the Lowest Seed!

The second quarter opened with the Chiefs ball deep in their own territory. For some reason, the Jefe’s had a play called to snap the ball Directly to Mecole Hardman. He handed off to Darryl Williams, the exchange was fumbled. Williams picked it up and promptly fumbled the ball again. TJ Watt picked that ball up for an easy TD: Steelers 7-0.

After TJ scampered for the TD, The Chiefs finally woke up. The first drive was a 76-yard, 8 play drive, the Chiefs playmakers got involved: Hill, Kelce, Mahomes, and Hardman made big plays with an intermixed run by Jerick McKinnon and then a shovel pass to McKinnon resulted in the tying score. Knotted up at 7-7.

Next, the Chiefs drove deep and Mahomes hit Byron Pringle, who made a nice over the should catch, for the Chief’s second TD: Chiefs 14-7.

Pittsburgh could do nothing and as the clock was closing down in the second half, Patrick Mahomes hit TE Travis Kelce Deep for the 3rd TD. You cannot let Travis Kelce get behind you if you are the defensive secondary.

Great play by Kelce to close the first half, 21-7. I was exchanging with Laddie Morse as the second quarter rolled on. I commented to him, I want “6” and that’s what we got. The Chiefs were awakened and scored 21 unanswered points. I noted at the half-time show, the pundits were lauding the Steeler Defense. Yes, they played well and made the first score. After that, it was all Kansas City Chiefs. The next score made it 28-7. Over 300 yards offense in the first half, most of it in the 2nd quarter.

I want to note all the role players who made big plays to make the score happen: Byron Pringle, Mecole Hardman, Jerick McKinnon, Tershawn Wharton, and Demarcus Robinson.

After Halftime

Opening the 3rd quarter, the Chiefs had the football and moved the ball effectively. The Chiefs shot themselves in the foot with penalties as they opened the 3rd Quarter. Then as the drive went to 2nd and 20 due to a penalty, Jerick McKinnon took a pass and ran it inside the 5. Then Scored.

And…

They pulled a tricky and Mahomes tossed a pass to tackle eligible Nick Allegretti. 35 unanswered points. Pittsburgh answered and scored 7 of their own making the score 35-14. Byron Pringle is making his case tonight as well. He has made tough catches and figured into the KC offense big time.

I will let the game play out. It’s possible from this point, that the Chiefs could possibly score 50. It wouldn’t matter. After the Steeler score, in the 4th quarter, Mecole Hardman made a catch and rolled for 41 yards. The Chiefs were inside the 15 and then rolled inside the 5 on a run by Gore. 2nd down and 6. On second down and 6, Patrick scrambled close to a first down and the next play got that. Suddenly, the Chiefs were 1st and goal. I am writing to Laddie: I want 6! Again!

This time the snap goes directly to Travis Kelce who hits Byron Pringle for another TD. 42-14.

The Steelers were stopped on a 3rd down play, went for it, and got the 1st down. The time left is 11.22 and L’Jarius Sneed intercepts Roethlisberger. But Alex Okafor is called for roughing the passer. He hit the ground next to Ben but skidded into his legs, giving the Steelers another set of downs. No matter what Pittsburgh does from here on out, the game is over. They continue to play hard, which you would expect of a playoff team Admirable. After the penalty call on Alex Okafor, the Steelers kept after it. I thought the defense played off the ball too much, but they continued to stymie the Steelers. The Chiefs held them to another 4th down try which they made. The time left was 7:58. Then they scored. I was hoping for another game where the Chiefs defense held the opponent under 17. Didn’t happen. now 42-21.

Editor’s Note: The Chiefs Offense was responsible for the Steelers first TD, so technically, the defense only allowed 14 points.

Again, the score at this point is moot. The Chiefs may drive for another score which would be best but again, the Chiefs played good football except for the opening quarter.

The Chiefs win, Pittsburgh goes home and Big Ben retires. KC will face the Bills next Sunday night. No matter what you might think of Roethlisberger, he continued to drive the Steelers down the field to score until his last play.. He belongs on Canton.

That is not the point though. What I didn’t like to see was the inept first quarter of the offense. As noted, the TJ Watt TD woke everybody up over the last 20 minutes of the first half and Spags changed up from the defense he had used until he went to more of a quasi-prevent plan later. I didn’t like that. Still, the defense played a good game and the offense exploded after going behind in the 1st quarter.

I do think the playoffs are showing why the NFL should return to a 6-team format. The “Super” wild card round was not so “Super.” It should have gone to a score of 49-21.

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David Bell – ArrowheadOne

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