Chiefs get chance to demonstrate progress
KANSAS CITY, MO. — Alex Smith endured watching fifilm of the Kansas Cit y Chiefs’ meltdown in Pittsburgh earlier this season “a bunch of times” this week, still trying to fifigure out where everything went wrong.
As if he hasn’t relived it enough in his nightmares.
Ben Roethlisberger threw f i ve t o u c h d own p a s s e s . Le’Veon Bell starred in his return from a three-game suspension.
The Steelers scored 22 fifirst- quarter points, led 36-0 before the Chiefs finally scored and they proceeded to rout the eventual AFC West champions 43-14 that October night.
“It’s been a long time,” S mi t h s a i d , “s o t h e y ’ v e changed. Over the course of the season, they’ve progressed and gone a certain direction. There’s a lot they change week-to-week.”
But the Chiefs (12-4) are a difffffffffffferent team, too.
Wide receiver Tyreek Hill NBC Steelers (12-5), Chiefs (12-4)
The game was scheduled for an afternoon kickoff, but was pushed back because of an expected ice storm. ... Steelers and Chiefs have combined to lose once since Nov. 20. ... Steelers won four straight divisional playoff games before losing at Denver last year. ... RB Le’Veon Bell set Pittsburgh playoff record with 167 yards rushing in win over Miami last Sunday. ... Bell ran for 144 yards vs. Kansas City in October. ... Steelers All-Pro WR Antonio Brown had five catches for 124 yards receiving and two TDs vs. Dolphins. ... Steelers offffffensive coordinator Todd Haley was Chiefs head coach last time Kansas City hosted playoff game in January 2011. ... Chiefs have lost four straight home playoff games, three in divisional round. ... Chiefs coach Andy Reid has 11 playoff wins, second active to Patriots’ Bill Belichick (23). ... Chiefs’ Travis Kelce led all TEs with 1,125 yards receiving this season. ... KC had plus-16 turnover difffffferential, tied for NFL lead. has made a name for himself as one of the NFL’s most dynamic rookies, going from special-teams standout to offffffffffffensive difffffffffffference-maker.
Top pass rusher Justin Houston is also expected to be available after missing the fifirst meeting while recov- and center Mitch Morse said, “and we had to come back and kind of take a step back and realize, ‘We’re a good football team.’ We had to understand where we were. We learned a lot from that game and we were able to take the next step.”
Indeed, the Chiefs ripped offff fifive straight wins after that loss in Pittsburgh, a stretch that turned around their season.
They wound up overtaking Oakland for the division title on the fifinal day of the regular season, earning a fifirst- round bye and a home playoffff game. The Steelers routed Miami last weekend to advance.
“I think a postseason challenge on the road i s one thing,” Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said, “but at a legendary venue like that is something else. We’re excited about it. We respect it.”
But they aren’t going to be intimidated by a venue where the Chiefs have not won a playoff game since the 1993 season.