Steelers bounce back to knock off only unbeaten team in NFL at Arrowhead

The Kansas City Chiefs played host to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday in a rematch of last season’s AFC Divisional Round game.

Through the first five weeks of the NFL season, the Kansas City Chiefs proved to be the best team in the NFL. But on Sunday, they took on the Pittsburgh Steelers at Arrowhead Stadium and, boy, did they look bad in the first half. The Steelers held the Chiefs to only one first down in the first half and when the teams went to the locker room, Kansas City had only six total yards and faced a 12-3 deficit.

The second half was more of the same for Kansas City, but they did try to put a dent in the deficit early in the fourth. On a fourth-down try at the five-yard line, Alex Smith saw his pass fall incomplete, giving the ball back to the Steelers. That would prove to be huge, as the Chiefs scored their first touchdown of the game on a Smith to De’Anthony Thomas 57-yard hookup the next time they got the ball. With a little over six minutes left in the game, the score was 12-10, setting the stage for a fantastic finish.

On a third-down play, Ben Roethlisberger hit Antonio Brown for a touchdown down the left sideline, but it was the incredible catch by Brown that made this play so special. It put the Steelers up for good, as they bounced back from a bad loss last weekend. The Chiefs lost their first game of the season and will now head to Oakland for a huge AFC West matchup in Week 7.

Highlights

https://twitter.com/Steel_Curtain4/status/919664092230619136

Three Stars

1. Le’Veon Bell, Pittsburgh Steelers

The Steelers went into Kansas City and beat the Chiefs in the Divisional Round last season, and did the same thing on Sunday. Last year, the Steelers did not have Le’Veon Bell for most of the game, and this year, he dominated. Bell finished the game with 179 yards rushing on over 30 carries, finding the end zone once.

2. Antonio Brown, Pittsburgh Steelers

With the game still very much in doubt, Antonio Brown found a way to put his stamp on the outcome. Arguably the best wideout in the game, Brown caught a third-down pass from Big Ben and raced down the sideline for the score. It put the Chiefs away, and showed why he is one of the  best playmakers this league has to offer.

3. Kansas City Chiefs defense

Sure, both Bell and Brown had a day, but the defense bent but did not break for most of the game. Marcus Peters had a huge interception, and the defense kept them in the game up until the end. On a day where the offense racked up six yards of total offense in the first half, this game was way closer than it should have been.

Odds

The line heading into this game was the Steelers getting five points, and they won this one outright. The over/under was set at 46.0, and thanks to some terrific defense, these two teams did not come close to that number. All lines could be seen at Sportsbook Review throughout the week.

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Next Week

The Kansas City Chiefs will hit the road in Week 7, as they take on the Oakland Raiders in an AFC West matchup on Thursday Night Football. Pittsburgh returns home to Heinz Field next weekend, as they welcome fellow AFC North contender Cincinnati Bengals to town in a big divisional matchup.