Big Ben: Steelers ‘don’t have a chance’
CHAMPS BUCS HOST EAGLES; OLD RIVALS COWBOYS, 49ERS FACE OFF
>>LOS ANGELES: Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has dismissed the Steelers’ chances of beating the Kansas City Chiefs in the NFL wild-card round in what could be his farewell appearance today.
After a thrilling final round of regular-season games, Roethlisberger and the Steelers squeezed into the play-offs after grinding out a victory on the road against Baltimore as the Indianapolis Colts suffered a shock loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
That improbable combination of results means that Roethlisberger, who is widely expected to retire at the end of the season, has extended his playing career by at least another week.
The dubious reward for Pittsburgh, however, is a daunting trip to the home of the Kansas City Chiefs, the second-seeded team in the AFC who have reached the past two editions of the Super Bowl.
Roethlisberger is under no illusions about the scale of the task facing the Steelers, who suffered an emphatic 36-10 regular-season loss to the Chiefs, led by quarterback Patrick Mahomes, on Dec 26.
“We probably aren’t supposed to be here. We’re probably not a very good football team,” Roethlisberger said.
“Out of the 14 teams that are in the play-offs, we’re probably No.14. We’re probably 20-point underdogs. I know they’re not the No.1 seed but they’ve won the AFC the last two years. We don’t have a chance. So let’s just go in and have fun.”
Whether or not Roethlisberger was deliberately talking down Pittsburgh’s chances remains to be seen.
But the 39-year-old two-time Super Bowl champion can at least take comfort from the fact that he has a winning record against Kansas City, with seven wins against three defeats.
Also today, NFC wild-card games kick off proceedings before the Steelers’ visit to the Chiefs in the late game.
‘A Trained killer’
The reigning Super Bowl champions Tampa Bay Buccaneers face a home fixture against Philadelphia, with the Eagles coaching staff focusing on how to stymie evergreen quarterback Tom Brady.
The age-defying Brady appears to have got the Bucs’ offence firing again just at the right time, averaging just under 34 points a game in their final three wins of the regular season.
“This guy, he’s a trained killer, and he knows how to play good offence and what he needs to do to keep his offence on track, so it’s going to be a big-time challenge,” Eagles defensive co-ordinator Jonathan Gannon said.
Although Brady will be without two key parts of his receiving corps, in the fired Antonio Brown and injured Chris Godwin, the 44-year-old seven-time Super Bowl champion will be able to count on tight end Rob Gronkowski and star receiver Mike Evans.
In Arlington, the Dallas Cowboys will host the San Francisco 49ers in the latest edition of one of the NFL’s greatest franchise rivalries.
The Cowboys and 49ers have battled in a slew of post-season classics, but today’s game marks the first play-off duel between the two giants since the 1995 season, when the 49ers won the NFC Championship game.
The Cowboys motored into the playoffs last weekend with a 51-26 rout of the Eagles.
Dallas, however, will be wary of a San Francisco team riding momentum after snatching victory on the road against the Los Angeles Rams last Sunday to book their play-off place.
San Francisco coach Kyle Shanahan, whose father Mike was the 49ers offensive coordinator during the team’s 1995 play-off win over the Cowboys, admits he’s unsure how aware his players are of the historical rivalry.
“I wish I could say yes, but I mean, some of these players were born in the 2000s,” Shanahan said.
FIXTURES Today
Eagles at Tampa Bay; 49ers at Dallas; Pittsburgh at Chiefs
Tomorrow
Cardinals at Rams