The Kansas City Chiefs is set to face off against the Pittsburgh Steelers Sunday night in Kansas City. Here is what to expect in this upcoming showdown between both teams.
The Chiefs started off the year rough but were able to make midseason adjustments to get the No. 2 seed in the AFC. With the offense struggling and the defense stepping up in big moments it helped this team get to where they are at and begin to look like the team they were in the past seasons. Although Pittsburgh had an unimpressive year they are still capable of causing an upset and ruining the postseason for the Kansas City Chiefs. Here is what to expect from the offense and defense in this upcoming Wild Card battle.
This Chiefs offense was able to get back to their normal self these past couple of weeks after having a rough start to the season. Patrick Mahomes and company were able to buckle down, limit turnovers, and find another way to get this offensive unit jump-started. Going into the playoffs, where Mahomes flourish will be one of the toughest challenges in his career. After teams start to play the offense differently, there is no question they will see the same result Sunday Night. However, this is when the Chiefs’ offense has been at their absolute best under pressure and in key moments.
With Pittsburgh coming back to town, regardless of the last outcome, TJ Watt and company will plan to come to Arrowhead and display a different result than last time. TJ Watt last week was able to tie the sack record set by Michael Strahan at 22.5 sacks and looking to do more damage in this postseason. Not having any impact in the last meeting, he is hungry to get a couple of sacks on Mahomes Sunday Night. Offensively, the Chiefs need to come with the same game plan as last time and get the ball out of Mahomes’ hands quickly and feed those running backs who had a phenomenal outing last time. With Edwards-Helaire out Sunday, we will see more of Derrick Gore and Jerick McKinnon getting action in the backfield and McKinnon bring that explosiveness that the Chiefs need. I expect this offense to not miss a beat and put up a lot of points Sunday Night in Arrowhead.
Defensively for the Chiefs, I expect them to overcome their latest struggles from the past 2 weeks and have another great run in this postseason. With Ingram becoming that veteran leader for this defense and everyone on one accord, this defense will once again make it a tough outing for Big Ben Roethlisberger. With JuJu trending towards being active Sunday night, that will give the Steelers more firepower offensively, however, with the season that they had, I doubt it makes a big difference for them offensively. They have a great back in Najee Harris, however, the Chiefs were able to focus on him and made it a rough time for Harris in the previous meeting. In this upcoming matchup, I expect the Chiefs to sack Big Ben a total of 4 times and cause two turnovers which will be the turning point in the blowing out the Steelers. Even though this may be the last game for Ben Roethlisberger in a Steelers uniform, KC will still keep their foot on the pedal and demolish this Pittsburgh Steelers team.
This will be the first wild card game Patrick Mahomes will play in his career and he will make the best of it. The goal going into this game is trying to get up early and get the starters out as soon as possible. The outcome for the Chiefs will be 38-10, with the starters resting midway in the 4th quarter preparing for the divisional matchup the next week. It will be fun and the Kansas City Chiefs will once again put the league back on notice.
