Pittsburgh Steelers

Steelers vs. Chiefs: what to watch for

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

share

facebookxredditlink

foxsports

Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

The Steelers face the Chiefs on Sunday Night Football this week and look to shake off a dreadful performance in week three.

Here is a look at some of the story lines leading up to the game against Chiefs.

Credit: Jason Bridge-USA TODAY Sports

Peters vs Brown

Antonio Brown has another marquee matchup against an opposing cornerback. The young Marcus Peters has proven himself to be one of the top flight ballhawks in the NFL.

The young cornerback already has four interceptions in the short 2016 season. He is a nightmare for opposing quarterbacks and excels in every aspect of playing in the defensive backfield.

Brown has shown that he can go up against the best and come out on top. However, in a week one matchup against Josh Norman and the Redskins, Brown made his impact on snaps that Norman was not the one covering him.

This is yet another elite matchup for fans and media to speculate about in the lead up to the game. Maybe this time the two players will have more opportunity to face each other than Norman and Brown had in week one.

Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

Steelers Reserves

Not only were the Steelers embarrassed by the Eagles in a complete drubbing last week, they were also decimated by injuries. The injuries were no excuse for the lopsided loss, but they’ll continue to affect the Steelers for at least another week.

Ryan Shazier, Robert Golden, Eli Rogers, and Ramon Foster are all ruled out for the game against the Chiefs. In the cases of Foster and Shazier, the Steelers don’t just lose their play. The two are leaders on offense and defense, respectively.

The Steelers will have to do without on Sunday night. The next man up mentality means that the Steelers won’t be making any excuses if team play is below the line. This is an opportunity for some other players to show their worth.

L.J. Fort, Jordan Dangerfield, and B.J. Finney will all get significant playing time against the Chiefs.

Le’Veon Bell

Le’Veon Bell will be returning to the starting lineup after serving his three game suspension for missed drug tests.

Bell will fill a number of roles for the Steelers and will have a chance to prove that his conditioning is where it needs to be. Mike Tomlin has no intentions of easing Bell back into his roles as an impact player.

With Eli Rogers out and questions surrounding the consistency of other receivers, Bell will be asked to contribute as a receiver in addition to a runner. Expect to see Bell in motion and lining up as receiver–in the slot and on the outside.

However the Steelers can get the ball into Bell’s hands, they will.

Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Pass Rush

Unfortunately, there hasn’t really been anything to watch in this area all season. The Steelers’ pass rush has been nonexistent so far in 2016.

Opposing quarterbacks have dropped back to pass against the Steelers’ defense 128 times in three games. The Steelers’ defense has one sack. For reference, the Steelers sacked the quarterback once every 13 drop backs in 2015.

The Steelers have had high expectations for their defensive front given the progress made by players like Stephon Tuitt and Javon Hargrave, and the presence of Cameron Heyward. However, the impact has yet to surface.

The defense has shown a willingness to keep plays in front of it, and the Steelers have had success in the red zone, but pressure needs to come. While there might not be the same attacking mentality that fans have grown accustomed to, you can’t expect to have an NFL quarterback stand in the pocket for several seconds and not complete a pass.

There were three plays on which the Steelers pressured Eagles’ QB Carson Wentz.  One was a successful rush by Anthony Chickillo that forced Wentz to throw incomplete. Another drew a penalty against Tuitt for contact to the quarterback’s helmet. On the last, Wentz avoided Tuitt, broke out of the pocket, and found running back Darren Sproles for a 73 yard touchdown.

With a vocal and passionate leader like Heyward, I expect this group to get it together. Life doesn’t get easier for a defense without a good pass rush.

Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

Ben Roethlisberger

In the offseason, Ben Roethlisberger was short listed for all kinds of awards and accolades. The Steelers were seen as a postseason lock and a Super Bowl favorite mostly because of number seven.

There is no doubt that Roethlisberger is an all-time great, but he’s off to a poor start. His completion percentage and yards per attempt are the lowest of his career. His quarterback rating is his third lowest in 13 seasons and, thanks to drops by defenders, he has been lucky to have thrown only four interceptions in three games. He’s also fumbled more times in three games than he did in his previous 28.

Coming off a bad loss to face the Chiefs, and with the Jets on the horizon, there has never been a better time for Roethlisberger to show off some vintage Ben. With so many questions on defense and on offense, Ben cannot be the reason that the Steelers lose games.

Bell’s return should help balance the Steelers’ offense and allow Ben to take what the defense gives him. There is no doubt that Ben can right the ship.

More from Still Curtain

This article originally appeared on

share

Get more from Pittsburgh Steelers Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more

in this topic

Pittsburgh Steelers

Kansas City Chiefs

National Football League