Sunday’s NFL Playoff bracket begins with what could be the best potential match up of the divisional round. The Pittsburgh Steelers (11-5) travel midwestish to take on the Kansas City Chiefs (12-4), a team they completely humiliated with a 43-14 beat down back in October.
The line on this game hasn’t moved since it opened, but the totals dropped a point, meaning a lot more people were taking the under for some reason. Reasons I do not understand at all.
If there’s any real hope for avoiding another New England Patriots trip to the Super Bowl, it’s going to come from this game. One of these teams has to beat them next week. For America and justice!
So which team will it be? Since all our hopes will be pinned on the winner, I know just what we need to hold on to what we’ve got.
The Game: Pittsburgh at Kansas City (-2, 44 O/U)
How the Steelers Got Here
Pittsburgh delivered a swift ass-kicking to the Dolphins last week in the AFC Wild Card round of the playoffs, scoring two touchdowns before Miami’s defense could even tie their cleats. It was the first time that Ben Roethlisberger, Antonio Brown and Le’Veon Bell had all suited up for a playoff game together and they, specifically made the Dolphins regret that little factoid immediately.
How it's done. 🙌 pic.twitter.com/6NBfFRehTI
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) January 11, 2017
There was a little scare toward the end of the game when Roethlisberger tweaked his ankle and showed up to his after-game press conference in a walking boot. He’s reportedly fine and the Chiefs should expect him to play like his normal elite self come Sunday.
Lost in the Steelers’ offensive dominance is a defense that lived in Miami’s backfield. Pittsburgh got 10.5 tackles for a loss against the Dolphins and five sacks.
How the Chiefs Got Here
Kansas City was gifted the AFC West and the No. 2 seed when Oakland Raiders quarterback Derek Carr broke his leg last month. The Raiders never recovered and the Chiefs were able to slide right into a playoff bye week in spite of losing to the Tennessee Titans four weeks ago.
Sea of Red.
World's Loudest Stadium.
It's not just home field advantage. It's Arrowhead Advantage.
It's Time, #ChiefsKingdom pic.twitter.com/ObFnh95Rvb
— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) January 11, 2017
Is this a different team than the one the Steelers curb stomped before Halloween? Yes, mainly due to the expansion of their offensive playbook and the emergence of Tyreek Hill. Hill is a constant danger to score any time the ball touches his fingers and as Kansas City has made its playoff run, they’ve used the rookie speedster more every game.
The Chiefs bring a formidable defense with one of the best pass rushes and secondaries in the game, so there’ll be no easy yardage gained here.
The X-Factors
There are two and they’re both on the Steelers’ side. Can Ben Roethlisberger protect the ball against Kansas City’s secondary? As impressive a win as the Steelers had last week, Roethlisberger was sloppy a couple of times and it cost him two pretty awful picks. While the Steelers could survive it against the Dolphins, especially up double digits at the time, the Chiefs won’t let him get away with it.
Do the Chiefs have an answer for Bell? They’ll have to figure it out quick because he, more than Hill, is a game-changer. Kansas City can bottle him up and commit to stopping him as a runner only to see him catch 10 passes and score two touchdowns as a receiver. He’s the best dual threat back in the league since Priest Holmes and Marshall Faulk and Missouri-ites should know how dangerous that kind of back can be.
The Pick
There’s an old rule of thumb that being the home team is worth three points in a point spread automatically, so if you look at that -2, the sportsbooks are telling you they think Pittsburgh is the better team. The problem is Kansas City has a significant home field advantage, one of the best in the league. I think this one will be a nailbiter right down to the final play, but Bell, Brown and Ben might just be too much to handle in the postseason. Steelers 24, Chiefs 20
Last Week
Straight up: 3-1
Against the spread: 3-1
Season
Straight up: 160-98-2
Against the spread: 131-129
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