The Pittsburgh Steelers were defeated by the Kansas City Chiefs 42-21. The loss came Sunday night in the Wild Card round of the playoffs.
The game ultimately was not close, but it did get off to an interesting start. The game was 0-0 after the first quarter, and 7-7 until 1:55 left in the second quarter. From there Kansas City were off to the races. They went up 21-7 going into the half, and got another touchdown on the first possession of the second. From there Pittsburgh was out of it.
The Offense
This game was no different than the others for Pittsburgh. It was a slow start with their first offensive score not coming until 4:15 in the third quarter. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger went 29-44 for 215 yards and two touchdown in this one.
Ben didn’t have a great game, but it was the skill position players that held Pittsburgh back in this one. Running back Najee Harris had 12 carries for 29 yards. He was successful on just four of his 10 first half runs, and had no runs greater than four yards.
Wide Receiver Dionte Johnson had two critical drops, and a false start early in this one. All three plays put the team at a large disadvantage. His second drop came on a 3rd and two with 5:45 left in the second quarter. At that time the score was still 7-7, but the Chiefs scored the go-ahead touchdown on the ensuing drive. Johnson ended the game with five catches on 10 targets for 34 yards and one touchdown.
The lone bright spot for the offense was the return of Wide Receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster. JuJu was activated from IR on Thursday, and it was announced he would play on Saturday. Smith-Schuster had five catches for 26 yards, and showed real toughness over the middle. Unfortunately, the presence of Number 19 was not enough prevent the Steelers from being defeated by the Chiefs.
The Defense
The defense had a great start to the game. Pittsburgh forced two turnovers in the first 17 minutes of game action with an interception and fumble recovery for a touchdown. But with Pittsburgh’s offense going three-and-out on five of seven first half drives, the defense was too exposed to hold up.
Ultimately the Steelers gave up 478 yards of total offense, with 372 coming through the air. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes went 30-39 for 404 yards, five touchdown and one interception.
Everyone got in on the action tonight for Kansas City. Tight End Travis Kelce had five receptions for 108 yards and a touchdown. He even threw a touchdown in the fourth quarter. Tyreek Hill had five receptions for 57 yards and one touchdown, and an impressive floor routine to boot.
Byron Pringle and Jerrick McKinnon added a combined 11 catches for 118 yards and three touchdowns. Backup offensive linemen Nick Allegretti added a touchdown reception as well.
T.J. Watt led the defense with the fumble recovery for a touchdown, the pass deflection leading to the interception, and a sack. Cameron Heyward forced the fumble and Devin Bush picked off the pass.
While the offense should be the first to blame for the loss, the defense did itself no favors. Too often the Chiefs pass catchers found soft spots in the middle of the field and created yards after catch. After a terrific first quarter the Steelers were not able to hold on any longer.
Special Teams
Special Teams got off to a rough start in this one, but ultimately did not hurt the Steelers. With 6:46 in the first quarter Mecole Hardman returned a punt 48 yards to the Steelers’ 22 yard line. Derek Watt made a touchdown saving tackle, which led to the interception.
Punter Presley Harvin had perhaps his best game of the season. Which was good considering the tumultuous last few weeks he’s had. He had punts punts for 348 yards for an average just under 50 yards per punt.
In Conclusion
The season ends with the Steelers being defeated by the Chiefs. And while it’s tough to see it end with a 21 point loss, it was still a fun ride to get here. In what was likely Ben Roethlisberger’s last game, he still got the opportunity to compete in a win-or-go-home scenario, and run his hurry up playground offense, and even throw one more pump fake for us to enjoy.
There are certainly a lot of questions this team has to answer this off-season. But for now we’ll take this time to appreciate 7’s last ride.
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