The Pittsburgh Steelers have dominated the exchanges with the Kansas City Chiefs since 1970 when the NFL merger with the AFL brought both teams into the AFC. The Steelers lead the series 12-8 in Kansas City but lost a week 16 game there in December.
The two teams have met twice before in the playoffs. The first time was a 1993 wildcard game in Kansas City. With Neil O’Donnell leading Pittsburgh, they were never behind until Nick Lowery’s overtime field goal gave Joe Montana’s Chiefs a 27-24 win in overtime. After thirteen years in San Francisco, Montana had been traded to Kansas City during the offseason.
Two decades later, the teams were destined to meet again in the playoffs. After a 4-1 start to the 2016 season, the Steelers imploded losing four straight and putting any potential playoff berth in jeopardy. At 4-5 they were a game behind Baltimore.
The Steelers recovered from their mid-season slump behind the running of three-year veteran Le’Veon Bell when the Steelers knocked off eight consecutive victories.
Bell played a major part in the week 4 regular season game against the Chiefs. Returning from suspension, he ran over the Chiefs with his 144 yards lifting the Steelers to a 43-14 victory in Heinz Field. Ten weeks later he set a franchise record in Buffalo of 236 yards that still stands
The Steelers’ 11-5 record that season ensured they won the division title, but they were only the third seed in the AFC playoffs. The Steelers easily defeated the Dolphins in the wildcard game. Le’Veon Bell set a post-season franchise record with 167 yards and two touchdowns as Pittsburgh beat Miami 30-12.
They advanced to the divisional game in Kansas City with a defense led by Ryan Shazier and James Harrison. The 38-year-old was still enjoying his life as a linebacker while making the lives of quarterbacks miserable.
The drama for the divisional game began before kickoff when the contest was pushed back from a 1pm start to 8.20pm because of an ice storm that hit the area. The delay was to enable road crews and public officials more time to treat roads and parking lots for the safety of the fans.
(11-5) Steelers at (12-4) Chief January 15, 2017 AFC Divisional playoff
The Steelers received the opening kickoff and Ben Roethlisberger looked comfortable as he led his team 57 yards before the drive stalled and Chris Boswell was brought on to kick a 22-yard field goal.
In reply, the Chiefs’ quarterback Alex Smith made short work of their first possession. After two runs moved the chains, Smith threw five consecutive completions finishing with a 5-yard touchdown catch by Albert Wilson.
Although Roethlisberger was now finding it difficult to complete his passes, he found Antonio Brown with one of 52 yards. Roethlisberger was trying to avoid a sack when he managed to get the pass off to Brown. The completion set Boswell up for a 38-yard field goal that moved the Steelers within one point of their opponents.
In the second quarter, the defenses began to take control of the game. Roethlisberger found Brown in the end zone, but good pass defense from the Chiefs’ Marcus Peters ensured the pass was incomplete. The Steelers settled for a field goal with Boswell adding one from 36 yards.
On the Chiefs’ ensuing drive, Smith was hit as he attempted a pass and the ball popped up and fell into the hands of a grateful Ryan Shazier. Pittsburgh was presented with great field position on the Chiefs’ 44.
Four plays later, Roethlisberger found himself returning the favor when his pass intended for Brown was tipped and intercepted by Eric Berry. With the Steelers defense on top, the Chiefs were also unable to take advantage of the interception and forced to punt.
With their passing game proving to be a struggle, the Steelers turned to Bell to churn out the yards and move the chains. His 27 yards in Pittsburgh’s next drive was enough to put the Steelers within field goal range again. Boswell added a 45-yard field goal to increase the Steelers lead to 12-7.
As the first half was ending, the Chiefs’ Charcandrick West fumbled away an excellent opportunity for Kansas to add to their score. The fumble recovered by Artie Burns was indicative of the inept performance from the offenses.
Defenses continued to dominate in the third period. After the Chiefs went three and out, it was a run of 38 tough yards from Bell that lit up the gloom of the night. With defenders hanging on him, Bell’s electric run enabled the Steelers to add a field goal from 43 yards.
While both offenses struggled to put any consistent drives together, defenses were proving their value. A sack from James Harrison brought a Chiefs’ drive to a halt before the Steelers were forced to punt on their next series.
As the third quarter came to a close, the Chiefs were gifted good field position by a poor punt, but the Steelers held them to a 48-yard field goal.
At the start of the final period, the Steelers were moving the ball when a sack on Roethlisberger saw Boswell being brought on again to kick a field goal from 43 yards.
With the Steelers holding a 18-10 lead and ten minutes remaining in the game, the Chiefs offense finally found the form they needed to have a chance to save the game. Smith led his team on a 15-play drive that took seven minutes off the clock. Although he converted two fourth downs, it needed a phantom illegal hit on a defenseless receiver to extend the drive.
The penalty gave the Chiefs a first down on Pittsburgh’s 12 and the drive finished with Spencer Ware’s 1-yard touchdown run.
The majority of the 75,000 fans inside Arrowhead erupted when the Chiefs’ two-point conversion was successful. But a hush quickly descended like a blanket of cold frost over the stadium when a flag for offensive holding appeared on the field. When the Chiefs replayed the conversion attempt, it failed leaving them two points adrift of Pittsburgh.
With less than three minutes remaining, the Steelers special teams joined in the fun when Justin Gilbert mishandled the kick return and was tackled on the Pittsburgh 5. Roethlisberger used a Bell run and two short passes for the first down before he could run the clock out to confirm the Steelers victory.
The Pittsburgh Steelers 18 at the Kansas City Chiefs 16
It was the first time in ten years that a team won a playoff game without scoring a touchdown. It confirmed that if your offense is struggling, your defense can still win the game.
Chris Boswell’s six field goals set a new NFL record for the post-season. Le’Veon Bell’s 101 yards in the first half was almost the same as the 106 total the Chiefs gained in sixty minutes. Bells’ overall 170 yards broke the franchise post-season record he had set the week before.
The Steelers went on to New England for the AFC Championship game where they lost 36-17.