GAME: Pittsburgh Steelers @ Kansas City Chiefs
LOCATION: GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium
TIME: 7:15 p.m. CT
NETWORK: NBC
The Kansas City Chiefs (12-5) enter the 2021 AFC Playoffs as the second seed, which means they will play the first wildcard game in the Mahomes era. They will face the Pittsburgh Steelers (9-7-1), who did not expect to make it this far in what has been a rocky season that included a 36-10 defeat to the Chiefs in Week 16.
According to most betting lines, a similar result is expected on Sunday night as the Chiefs open up as 12.5-point favorites. The matchup will be quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ ninth postseason start, the second-most for any QB under the 27-years-old since the Super Bowl era began in 1966. Mahomes is 6-2 in postseason play with 17 touchdowns and four interceptions, leading Kansas City to average 31 points per game.
The only other QB that has Mahomes beat is the guy the Chiefs will be going up against, Steelers’ quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who could be taking the field for the last time on Sunday.
Kansas City goes into the postseason as the only team with three offensive playmakers that finished the 2021 regular season with over 1,000 yards and at least eight scores.
Wide receiver Tyreek Hill finished the season with 1,335 all-purpose yards and nine touchdowns, tight end Travis Kelce ended the regular season with 1128 scrimmage yards and ten scores, and running back Darrel Williams had a sensational regular season with 1,010 all-purpose yards and eight touchdowns.
In Week 16, the Chiefs were without Kelce, and Hill was fresh off the COVID-19 list, but the Chiefs could still muster a dominant performance on offense. That’s because several underneath guys on the depth chart stepped up when the team needed them the most.
Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Darrel Williams, and Derrick Gore combined for 125 rushing yards and a score on 32 carries. At the same time, WR Byron Pringle led the team in receptions for the day with six catches for 75 yards and two scores.
The Chiefs scored 36 points without their usual core of offensive weapons and will look to do it again with all their guys back in the lineup. And there’s a decent chance they’ll be able to against Pittsburgh’s struggling defensive unit, which has allowed the fourth-most points since Week 11.
There is one strength on the Steelers’ defense, and that’s pass rusher T.J. Water, who tied an NFL record with 22.5 sacks in this season. So if there’s anyone on defense the Chiefs will need to prepare for, it’ll be Watt.
Kansas City will also need a huge game from their pass rush if they want to have a chance to repeat the results from a few weeks ago.
No quarterback releases the football faster than Ben Roethlisberger, who only holds onto the ball for an average of 2.27 seconds before throwing to an open man. However, it usually ends in disaster for the Steelers when he’s forced to hold the ball longer than that.
On 219 dropbacks that Big Ben held onto the ball for longer than 2.5 seconds, he was sacked 30 times and committed 24 turnovers. So rushing Roethlisberger early and often will be essential for Kansas City.
In the secondary, Kansas City will need to know where WR Diontae Johnson is at all times. He finished the regular season as one of Big Ben’s top targets in 2021, finishing with 107 catches for 1,161 yards and eight touchdowns.
The Chiefs will also need to be prepared for RB Najee Harris, who registered over 1600 all-purpose yards and 10 TDs this season. However, Harris showed up on the Steelers’ injury report earlier this week with an elbow injury and did not practice on Wednesday or Thursday.
If Harris can’t suit up for Pittsburgh, it’ll be a huge blow to the Steelers’ offense. In Week 16, Harris ran for 93 yards on 19 carries and was a top contributor to how the Steelers moved the ball on offense in 2021.
Defensively, Kansas City had the perfect scheme dialed up, and they’ll need a similar version on Sunday night. The Chiefs allowed just 10 points in Week 16 and held Pittsburgh out of the endzone until inside of two minutes left in the fourth quarter and forced three takeaways. The Steelers made it into Chiefs territory twice on their first nine drives, marking just how dominant the Chiefs were that day, despite missing rookie linebacker Nick Bolton and cornerback Rashad Fenton.
This year’s Super Wildcard Weekend features many intriguing matchups. On Sunday night, the Chiefs enter the 2021 postseason with their eyes set for another run for the Super Bowl, while Pittsburgh looks to extend Ben Roethlisberger’s future HOF career at least another week by avenging an embarrassing defeat to the Chiefs in a rematch from Week 16.
