The Kansas City Chiefs games just keep getting bigger and bigger as the season progresses. While they overcame a stiff challenge from the Los Angeles Chargers 10 days ago, they find themselves in another “must-win” situation today against the Pittsburgh Steelers, at home. One of the reasons for needing to win again today is because the Tennessee Titans won on Thursday night and would hold the tie-breaker over the Chiefs in the AFC Conference, should K.C. do the unthinkable and lose today to the Steelers. So, let’s take a peek at today’s matchup.
Chiefs Passing Game vs Steelers Defense
The Steelers pass defense has the 13th best passing percentage allowed in the NFL with 64.8%. In the meantime, Patrick Mahomes has a passing completion percentage of 65.6 which is close to his career average of 65.9. With Tyreek Hill back in action, Mahomes should have a much easier time of picking their defense apart. We won’t know until closer to game time whether or not TE Travis Kelce will also be available. DT Chris Jones was re-activated off he Covid list on the 23rd and his return is as important as any player on defense.
Here’s a list of Chiefs on the Reserve/COVID-19 list as of the 24th of December:
With Tyreek Hill ready to go, I see no reason why Mahomes won’t be able to utilize other options over the middle of the field to replace Kelce. Players like: Noah Gray, Byron Pringle, Demarcus Robinson, plus Josh Gordon. This gives Andy Reid a great reason to being Josh Gordon into the fold. One of the advantages that having Gordon has given to K.C. is, having another solid options to threaten with crossing patterns. Gordon is fast enough to make that happen, but he’s also big enough to dish out some punishment in the process. Whether or not that begins today, or closer to the playoffs, I fully expect to see him making that kind of contribution this season.
Any time a team has a premiere DE like TJ Watt, you must take them seriously. Not only that but, their defense is ranked second (2nd) in he NFL in sacks with 41. Overall, it may not matter much as they’ve allowed point totals of 41, 41 and 36 while losing three (3) of their last five (5) games. The Steelers also have Minkah Fitzpatrick at Safety, and while he’s a dangerous player, he alone will not be enough today.
Steelers Offense vs Chiefs Defense
Steelers RB Najee Harris needs only 109 yards rushing to break the 1,000 yard barrier. At 6-foo-1 and 231 lbs. he brings a load and packs a wallop when you hit him. Not only that but, Harris has 62 receptions this year for 405 yards. If Chiefs LB Nick Bolton can’t play today, K.C. will have a much more difficult time stopping their running game.
Although Bolton’s absence will hurt, the return of Chris Jones should alleviate any worries you may have about the Chiefs ability to perform the primary task of limiting Pittsburgh’s running game, and of course, then, getting to their QB. Jones has seven (7) sacks this year and I won’ be surprised to see him pick up 2 or even 3 more today, as Ben Roethlisberger has become quite a stationary target. He may have been getting the ball out more quickly this season, but that has been by necessity.
Pittsburgh’s offense ranks 20th in points scored and as is often the case, they have a premiere wide receiver in Diontae Johnson who has over 1,000 receiving already (1,028) this year and although Chase Claypool is having a down year, if they stick to a short passing game and Roethlisberger is able to get the ball out quickly, the Chiefs D may have a hard time with them.
The Steelers OL hasn’t been very good his year. Losing All Pro Center Maurkice Pouncey (retirement) and All Pro Guard David DeCastro (release) will have that effect. The Steelers offense has been outscored by 89 points in the first three quarters of the games they’ve played this year, and if they perform that way against K.C. today, the Chiefs are going to be H-E-Double-Hockey-Sticks to come back against. Consequently, I’m not at all convinced that the Steelers offense will be a threat to the Chiefs Defense. Especially with Chris Jones back in the lineup.
Chiefs Running Game vs Steelers Defense
When we all heard that both Hill and Kelce were banished to the Covid list days ago, we anticipated a game in which Andy Reid would have to be more creative and take advantage of his other weapons, as much as possible. While I expect much of that responsibility to fall on Patrick Mahomes shoulders, the question remains… who will be his primary targets? Even with Tyreek Hill back, I’d expect the Chiefs to utilize their rushing attack — and RBs out of the backfield — more than usual.
Even though I’ve been critical of Brett Veach making Clyde Edwards-Helaire (CEH) a first round pick in 2020, it may be CEH who is the difference maker in this game. While CEH has only played in 9 games this season, he has 490 rushing yards and 615 yards from scrimmage with a 4.5 YPC average (BTW, Najee Harris has a 3.6 YPC, just sayin). It’s apparent that Reid has deliberately set out to employ a running back by committee approach. he Chief #2 RB, Darrell Williams has 771 yards from scrimmage this season wit nearly he same number of receiving yards as rushing yards (373-to-398) and a 3.7 YPC average.
When Pittsburgh faced the Titans, their defense allowed more than 200 yards rushing in that game, even though the Titans didn’t have Derrick Henry. When Reid has faced defenses previously, we know he likes to run right at (or around) excellent DL. He’s done it against JJ Watt and he’s done so against Von Miller. That’s what we should expect today.
Weather Report
Referee Crew
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Player Movement Update
The Chiefs moved three players to the “Questionable” status on Saturday. By so doing, those players remain a possibility for today’s game if their Covid testing come back negative:
- Travis Kelce
- Lucas Niang
- Nick Bolton
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Go Chiefs!
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Laddie Morse — ArrowheadOne
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