Kansas City Chiefs

Steelers vs. Chiefs: A Winning Game Plan

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 12:16 p.m. ET

Fansided, Logan Bryson/FanSided via Still Curtain

Steelers vs. Chiefs: Pittsburgh has fared well recently against Kansas City, so what is their winning game plan?

Oct 2, 2016; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid (L) and Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin (R) meet at mid-field after their game at Heinz Field. The Steelers won 43-14. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

After a dominating home playoff win against the Dolphins, Pittsburgh draws a matchup against the Chiefs in the Divisional Round. With the Chiefs holding home field advantage, Pittsburgh will travel to one of the NFL’s toughest stadiums to win at, Arrowhead Stadium.

Luckily for Pittsburgh, they have tasted recent success against Kansas City, holding a 4-1 against the Chiefs dating back to 2010.

More from Still Curtain

Two victories came against Chiefs teams quarterbacked by Tyler Palko (Go Pitt!) and Matt Cassell respectively, and occurred before the Andy Reid/Alex Smith era that is currently underway in Kansas City.

The Steelers have sustained their success against Andy Reid and Alex Smith however, as they hold a 2-1 record against the Chiefs since 2014. The lone loss came in 2015, where Landry Jones made his first career start in Arrowhead.

With the Steelers proving dominant for the most part in their recent matchups against Kansas City, let’s take a deeper look into their winning game plan that Pittsburgh has been employing against the Chiefs.

2014 Season: Steelers win 20-12 in Pittsburgh

Oct 2, 2016; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (7) straps on his helmet and takes the field against the Kansas City Chiefs during the first quarter at Heinz Field. The Steelers won 43-14. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

This Week 16 victory ultimately helped the Steelers clinch their first playoff berth since the “Tebow Game” and additionally knocked the Chiefs out of playoff contention.

While this game took place over two seasons ago, Pittsburgh’s defensive keys to success in this victory were not overly different from their current winning game plan.

Red Zone Success

Despite giving up a ton of yards through the air defensively, Pittsburgh won this game by making red zone defensive stops. Perhaps what is most shocking from this game was Pittsburgh’s ability to hold Kansas City out of the end zone in 6 red zone trips. The Chiefs were only able to come away with 4 field goals, a forced fumble, and a failed 4th down conversion. On the offensive side of the ball, Pittsburgh went 2-4 in their red zone trips, coming away with two touchdowns (one to Bell and Brown each) and two field goals.

Pressure with the Pass Rush

Additionally, Pittsburgh generated a ton of pressure defensively, racking up 6 sacks on Alex Smith. The primary contributors to Pittsburgh’s pass rush were Cam Heyward, James Harrison, and the now retired Jason Worilds. I expect Pittsburgh’s recently red hot pass rush to continue this weekend as they have managed to terrorize opposing quarterbacks for 9 sacks the past two games.

Lesson

I fully anticipate the Steelers to take a similar approach in their upcoming playoff matchup against the Chiefs. Pittsburgh will give up the underneath passes as long as they can limit the Chief’s explosive plays and keep them out of the end zone. If Pittsburgh can stop Kansas City in the red zone, and get to Alex Smith for some drive ending sacks, I like their chances.

2015 Season: Steelers lose 23-13 in Arrowhead in Landry Jones’ First NFL Start

Oct 25, 2015; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Chiefs outside linebacker Tamba Hali (91) celebrates after sacking Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Landry Jones (3) in the second half at Arrowhead Stadium. Kansas City won 23-13. Mandatory Credit: John Rieger-USA TODAY Sports

The Chiefs managed to prevail in this matchup despite entering the game on a 5 game losing streak. This victory seemed to turn their season around, as they embarked on an 11 game winning streak that lasted all the way into the playoffs.

While this game certainly would have been a different story with Ben at the helm, their are still several important lessons for the Steelers to learn from this defeat.

Win the Turnover Battle

First of all, even though all of the turnovers were committed by Landry Jones, Pittsburgh will have to take better care of the football should they want to leave Arrowhead with a victory.

The Steelers lost the turnover battle 3-0 as Landry Jones tossed two interceptions and lost a fumble. These struggles were understandable as Arrowhead is an extremely hostile situation for a young QB to make his first career start.

However, Big Ben hasn’t been himself as of late in terms of taking care of the football. In 3 of his last 4 starts he has tossed 2 or more interceptions, throwing 2 interceptions against Miami, 2 against Baltimore and 3 against the Bills. Even though Pittsburgh has found a way to come out on top in all 3 of these matchups, the Steelers are unlikely to walk away with a victory in Arrowhead if Ben continues to give the ball away.

Win on 3rd Down

Additionally, the Landry Jones led Steelers struggled on 3rd down in this 2015 matchup. The offense went 2-10 on 3rd down conversions, and similarly struggled to get off the field on defense, allowing the Chiefs’ offense to convert 9 out of 16 3rd down chances.

Lesson

The moral of this game is Pittsburgh will have to take care of the football and pick up 3rd downs to sustain drives against the Chiefs defense. I would expect the Steelers in this upcoming matchup to lean on Le’Veon Bell to avoid turnovers and control the time of possession. With the threat of the run Ben will then be able to pick his spots and hopefully connect with Antonio Brown and Co. for several scores.

2016 Season: Steelers blowout the Chiefs at home in 43-14 victory.

Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

I bet every Steelers fan is praying for a repeat of this game. In perhaps the Steeler’s most dominant showing of the year, Pittsburgh outmatched the Chiefs to the tune of Ben’s 300 passing yards, 5 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions.

Getting Off to a Hot Start

Most importantly, the Steeler’s offense and defense came out hot to jump out to a 22-0 first quarter lead. Pittsburgh hit Kansas City in the mouth and never looked back in an impressive showing.

Offensively, the Steelers were re-energized with Le’Veon Bell back from suspension. With the Chiefs defense having to account for the threat of the run, Roethlisberger opened up the passing game and connected for 3 first quarter touchdowns in a 6 play span. Antonio Brown reeled in two of the scores, similar to his 2 first quarter touchdowns against Miami in the Wild Card victory.

Defensive High Energy Effort

Pittsburgh’s defense also did an excellent job of getting the ball back to the hot offense with 2 first quarter turnovers. While defensively winning the turnover battle 2-0, the Steelers also pressured Alex Smith to the tune of 4 sacks. Three came at the hand of the now injured Cam Heyward. The other was recorded by Vince Williams, who was filling in for an injured Ryan Shazier. In perhaps the game of his career, Williams racked up 16 tackles on the day. The defense played with high effort throughout the entirety of the game, and revealed a winning game plan for the Steelers.

Lesson

The lessons from this game would be the importance of getting off to a hot start. The Chiefs are not a team particularly built to come from behind, as they would rather control the game with their defense and wait for Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce to win the game for them. If Pittsburgh can jump off to an early lead, similar to the Wild Card win against Miami, Steelers fans can gear up for an AFC Championship game appearance.

2016 Playoffs: The Winning Game Plan

So what do the Steelers need to focus on to come away with a W in the hostile Arrowhead Stadium?

Pittsburgh’s best chance of victory would be to try to get off to an early lead. Perhaps the defense can force a turnover or two and swing the momentum in Pittsburgh’s favor. Then, the defense needs to stay composed and limit splash plays.

Particularly they have to focus on bottling up Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce, as they are threats to score from anywhere on the field. Additionally, the Offense needs to take care of the football and lean on Bell.

Ben cannot toss two late interceptions like he did against Miami. Le’Veon Bell is the hottest RB in football at this moment, and I would feed him the ball until a defense proves they could stop him.

While these goals may sound fairly obvious, I believe this is Pittsburgh’s best chance for a victory.

However, hot start for the offense or not, the pressure is on Kansas City. On an 8 game winning streak, the Steelers are the hottest team in football and are the favorites in this matchup for a reason. I anticipate both teams to be ready to play in this highly anticipated Divisional Matchup.

Here. We. Go.