3 improvements Steelers must make to beat the Chiefs

1. Own the time of possession

Let’s recap the incredible Week 11 Sunday Night Football, shall we?

Derek Carr left Mahomes with just over 100 seconds to come back and beat the Las Vegas Raiders. He needed seven plays and only 75 seconds to go 75 yards and connect with Travis Kelce for the touchdown. All of 75 seconds separated Carr from being the hero and being the loser with a good clock-chewing drive.

The Steelers won the time of possession battle Wednesday afternoon with nearly 34 minutes of offense. Although they had three drives of four plays or less, when Pittsburgh had possession, they took their time moving the ball downfield. Their shortest drive of five plays or more lasted 3:18, and it only ended because of a Roethlisberger red zone interception.

The Steelers cannot give any time to the Chiefs offense. Even with the pressure coming from T.J. Watt, Mahomes needs little time to evade the sack and go deep. After that, speed in the open field could give the Chiefs a chip shot to end the game in their favor.

Trust the run game, throw short-to-intermediate passes and let Mahomes have little to work with. That’s essential to their success and even that might not be enough to stop the MVP front-runner from torching the Steelers’ hopes and dreams.