The bosses know that a rematch with the Steelers isn’t going to be as easy

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – When the Kansas City Chiefs host the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC Wild Card on Sunday, it’s only been three weeks since the teams met in the regular season at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium.

The The Chiefs forged the Steelers 36-10 Despite December 26 a COVID-19 epidemic within the team who left them without a tight-lipped Travis Kelce, right-wing tackle Lucas Niang, cornerback Rashad Fenton and linebacker Nick Bolton.

Kicker Harrison Butker and punter Tommy Townsend also left the game on the reserve / COVID-19 list, as well as offensive lineman Kyle Long and security Armani Watts.

No wonder Kansas City opened as a 12 1/2 point favorite the most uneven betting line among the games after the six seasons this weekend.

But Pittsburgh (9-7-1) simply won’t crash, which could be Ben Roethlisberger’s last NFL match.

“I think they’re playing well together,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “I think they’re doing a good job with it. Ben is playing well. The runner (Najee Harris) ran well. The offensive line is doing a good job, and Pittsburgh is always good on this defensive side. They’re flying around. They have a ball on the side of the star players who are doing really well .

Reid also praised Steeles’ wide receivers.

Pittsburgh defensive end TJ Watt, who is likely to win the NFL defensive player of the year, battled the cracking ribs and played limited snaps in the early meetings.

In the last two weeks, he has collected five sacks – finishing this season with an NFL record of 22 1/2, leading the league for the second year in a row.

“He’s a special player,” Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes said. “… They have a lot of guys who play hard all the way through the game and they play constantly and go and go. For me, it’s always about making those long games, not making a bad game happen. Those guys are around me after the whole play. When I rob and step into my pocket when the stuff isn’t there, I have to make sure I take them into account because they’re not going to give up the play. “

Traditional wisdom says Pittsburgh won’t cause much trouble for Kansas City on Sunday, but Mahomes won’t be too confident about the post-season contribution.

“We had a great game that day where we performed at a very high level, but this is a good defense,” Mahomes said. “They come with answers. They have great coaches who have been coaching for a long time and have had a lot of success, so we know it’s not going to be easy. It’s going to be a battle in every match, and we’ll come to mind knowing , we will be home next week.

Certainly in the Chiefs ’game plan against the Steelers, Reid’s crew should expect a win.

Mahomes made 23/30 of 258 yards with three touchdowns, two for Byron Pringle and one for Mecole Hardman Jr.

Kansas City rushed 127 yards and inputs for the running players were still 95 yards, but Pittsburgh is eager for a fresh start.

“You definitely have to have a different game plan,” Mahomes said. “They go through and look at the Game Plan and try to take away the stuff we had success for the first time. … They understand how to change things, they understand (how) to go back to where they are awesome, so we’re waiting for a fight.”

Make no mistake, the Chiefs, who finished the 50-year Super Bowl two years ago and were repeated as AFC champions last week, will have a unique mission starting Sunday – returning to the Super Bowl.

“The playoffs are here,” Tight End Travis Kelce said. “Everyone needs to get juice and the motivation to put everything aside. We have five weeks to try to reach the ultimate goal of winning the Super Bowl, and one week at a time. There are Steelers this week, so we need to make sure we have all the answers to everything they can do.

NFL Wild Card Weekend Playoff Schedule

() means seed
on Saturday, January 15th
(5) Las Vegas Raiders (4) Cincinnati Bengals, 3:30 PM (NBC)
(6) New England Patriots at (3) Buffalo Bills, 7:15 PM (CBS)
Sunday, January 16th
(7) Philadelphia Eagles at (2) Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 12 noon (Fox)
(6) San Francisco 49ers at (3) Dallas Cowboys, 3:30 p.m. (CBS)
(7) Pittsburgh Steelers at (2) Kansas City Chiefs, 7:15 PM (NBC)
Monday, January 17th
(5) Arizona Cardinals, (4) Los Angeles Rams, 7:15 PM (ESPN)