Steelers (9-7-1) at Chiefs (12-5)
W .......... at Buffalo .......... 23-16 L ........... Las Vegas ........... 26-17 L ........... Cincinnati ........... 24-10 L ......... at Green Bay ......... 27-17 W ............. Denver ............. 27-19 W ........ Seattle ........ 23-20 (OT) BYE WEEK
W ......... at Cleveland ......... 15-10 W ............ Chicago ............ 29-27 T .......... Detroit .......... 16-16 (OT) L ....... at LA. Chargers ....... 41-37 L ......... at Cincinnati ......... 41-10 W .......... Baltimore .......... 20-19 L ........ at Minnesota ........ 36-28 W .......... Tennessee .......... 19-13 L ........ at Kansas City ........ 36-10 W .......... Cleveland .......... 26-14 W .... at Baltimore .... 16-13 (OT)
W .......... Cleveland .......... 33-29 L ......... at Baltimore ......... 36-35 L ........ L.A. Chargers ........ 30-24 W ...... at Philadelphia ...... 42-30 L ............. Buffalo ............. 38-20 W ....... at Washington ....... 31-13 L ......... at Tennessee ......... 27-3 W .......... N.Y. Giants .......... 20-17 W ........... Green Bay ........... 13-7 W ........ at Las Vegas ........ 41-14 W ............... Dallas ............... 19-9 BYE WEEK
W ............. Denver ............. 22-9 W ........... Las Vegas ........... 48-9 W . at L.A. Chargers . 34-28 (OT) W .......... Pittsburgh .......... 36-10 L ......... at Cincinnati ......... 34-31 W ......... at Denver ......... 28-24
Sunday, 8:15 p.m. ET, GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri
TV: NBC
Tipico Sportsbook line: Chiefs by 11 ⁄2
1
Steelers’ keys to victory: Limit turnovers on offense. In Week 16, the Steelers sank their chances against the Chiefs by committing turnovers. QB Ben Roethlisberger threw an untimely interception and coughed up a fumble, while WR Diontae Johnson also fumbled. Those three turnovers led to 17 points for Kansas City and put Pittsburgh down 30-0 to the Chiefs into the third quarter.
Chiefs’ keys to victory: Force the Steelers to beat them through the air. The running game is the clear strength of the Pittsburgh offense with rookie RB Najee Harris being a focal point. Harris and RB Benny Snell had a combined 24 carries against Kansas City in Week 16, but they were limited to 113 rushing yards. The biggest way to eliminate the run game is to jump out to a big lead. Roethlisberger threw 35 passes in Week 14, completing 23 for just 159 yards.
Matchup to watch: Chiefs DE/ LB Melvin Ingram vs. Steelers RT Chukwuma Okorafor. Ingram, of course, was dealt from Pittsburgh to Kansas City at the trade deadline. Ingram wanted a fresh start and Steelers defensive coordinator Keith Butler goaded him on his way out of town. “I think all of us think we are better than we are,” Butler told reporters. “But we’ve got to suffer reality sometimes.” Butler is set up for a big day against his former teammates.
Who wins? The playoffs are a different beast than the regular season, but short of a complete meltdown, it’s hard to see the Steelers beating the Chiefs in Kansas City.
Chiefs, 37-20