After a week in which they lost by 31 points, the Steelers returned focused and determined to avenge their first loss to the season.
Mission accomplished.
The result was a 43-14 beat down of the Kansas City Chiefs, a team that came into Sunday night 2-1 and looking to build on their playoff appearance from a season ago.
The Steelers never gave them a chance – putting up a career-high 22 points in the opening quarter and going on cruise control in a rainy night at Heinz Field.
The storylines for the Steelers were many, from Ben Roethlisberger throwing for five touchdowns, a defense that played their best effort of the season by far, to the successful return of running back Le’Veon Bell.
Bell, who missed three weeks due to suspension, looked ready to inflict damage on the Chiefs.
He rushed for 144 yards on 18 carries and he contributed 34 yards in a couple of grabs through the air.
The Steelers collected two early turnovers from the Chiefs, and made them count scoring two TD’a as Ben hit Darius Heyward-Bey for one score, and Antonio Brown for another.
Overall the Steelers offense clicked – scoring 43 points and putting up 437 yards of offense in the win.
The defense put more pressure on Chiefs QB Alex Smith, who was part of an offense that didn’t score till about 10 minutes left in the game.
Big Ben was 22-for-27 with 300 yards and five touchdowns in a dazzling effort that started on the Steelers opening drive.
There’s no doubt this was the perfect response to what took place following last weeks beat down in Philly.
The Steelers are back at home in a week as they will play the New York Jets.
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BJ Rassam
October 3, 2016 at 1:59 am
That was a solid and impressive win for the Steelers against a historically tough Chiefs team.
Dave B.
October 3, 2016 at 6:24 am
A great bounce back win after the Eagles debacle from last week . The Steelers were ticked off after the Eagles and it showed in this game . They imposed their will on the Chiefs and it wasnt even close . This goes to show just how dominating this Steelers team can be . If this team can correct the problems on defense and just be average , the sky is the limit for this team . Lastly , another 300 yard passing game and 5 touchdowns from Ben is cementing this guys status as the best quarterback in the NFL . Sorry Tom Brady fans , if my back is against the wall and its a one game playoff , my money is on Ben . Hes proved it and bottom line , hes earned it .
DrGeorge
October 3, 2016 at 9:54 am
The Steelers beat the Chiefs 43-14 last night. Is this the same Steelers team that lost to the Eagles last week 34-3? Well, yes – and no. The depression over last week’s loss has given way to euphoria over last night’s win – and neither are justified. So what was the difference?
The most obvious difference is that the Chiefs have numerous injuries and were forced to play rookies in their secondary who aren’t ready for prime time. Ben R. threw five TD passes against that secondary, two of them on badly blown coverages. Against their D-line, our O-line was able to make holes for Bell and Williams and racked up almost 150 yards rushing, giving us a balanced attack. In the pouring rain, the Chief’s QB lost his grip on an early pass and floated a wounded duck that Heyward tipped and Jarvis Jones gathered in for a crucial interception. In short, the Chiefs are not the equal of the Eagles on offense or defense. It was a ‘get well’ game for the Steelers, but not exactly a defining moment.
A second difference was Butler’s scrapping of the Tampa 2 zone midway through the first quarter. The Chiefs were picking it apart, just as the Eagles had. Instead, Butler let the secondary play an aggressive man to man, until the waning minutes of the game, and that change simplified coverages for the younger defenders, who executed with greater confidence. When we reverted to the zone late in the game, we quickly gave up two cheap TDs.
A third difference was personnel. On offense, Gilbert got injured early and was replaced by Ryan Harris at RT; Harris has quicker feet than Gilbert, and Ben R. enjoyed better protection the rest of the night. B.J. Finney started in place of the injured R. Foster at LG and performed well in run blocking and in pass protection. These changes allowed Ben R. to throw deep with impunity. Ben also re-discovered his tight ends (virtually ignored against the Eagles), who responded by catching one TD (James) and making a nice gain (Johnson). On defense, some of our backups, replacing the wounded, played superbly, including Hargrave, Dangerfield, and V. Williams.
Over all, we averaged 8 yards per play, 10 yards per pass, Ben was 22 for 27 attempts, our passing and running were in balance, and we were 3 for 3 in the red zone. It was a very efficient performance. So what’s not to like? On offense, not much. But we don’t know if our revamped line would have played as well against the Eagles’ defense or one as good. Second, on defense, we are still weak against the run; a wounded KC averaged nearly 5 yards per carry. Third, on defense, we continue to give up 3rd and 4th down conversions at an alarming rate: KC was 10 for 20 in conversions in the pouring rain, largely because we reverted to the zone on 3rd and long, which every QB in the league knows how to attack. Butler should stick to the man defense. Fourth, Ben continues to miss open receivers, throwing short on deep passes and behind them on crossing routes, as he did against the Eagles.
Next up are the Jets and the Dolphins away. Both are no better than the Chiefs. So we won’t get an answer to our questions until the Patriots come to town. But between now and then, we have time to enjoy the win, fix our areas of weakness, and give our young starters time to learn.