RDS and RDS Direct will present the playoff game between the Steelers and the Chiefs at 8:15 p.m. Sunday.
SUMMARY
The Pittsburgh Steelers and the Kansas City Chiefs are currently meeting on RDS and RDS Direct. The Chiefs are up 21-7 at halftime.
TJ Watt scored the game’s first touchdown on a fumble return early in the second quarter.
Patrick Mahomes’ offense, however, scored two touchdowns in as many offensive possessions to take the lead. Jerick MacKinnon and Byron Pringle scored on passing plays.
Mahomes added before the end of the first half by completing his third touchdown pass, this time to Travis Kelce on a 48-yard play.
By halftime, Mahomes had completed 19 passes for 241 yards, while Ben Roethlisberger was limited to 24 yards after completing just five of his 14 attempted passes.
Pierre Vercheval pre-game notes
The game scheduled for Sunday night between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Kansas City Chiefs is the one that, on paper, seems to us the most unequal. Both teams’ regular season records speak for themselves.
I feel like saying the Steelers haven’t had a great season, but the fact remains that they slipped through the playoffs. However, it must be admitted that even their victories were often not masterpieces. Let’s say that in terms of style points, we will go back to Pittsburgh! But they fought hard and it was by logging that they stayed in the playoffs long enough to find their way in the end. Casually, in their last 13 games, their record has been 8-4-1.
In their last four outings, Mike Tomlin’s men have suffered a defeat, and it was precisely in Kansas City, against these same Chiefs. Those who watched the match will remember that it was not a pretty sight, this loss of 36-10. It was 14-0 after 15 minutes and 24-0 at halftime. In fact, it was 36-3 until the Steelers scored their only touchdown of the game in a desperate, classic “garbage time” touchdown with three minutes to go.
This brilliant gain, the Chiefs had managed to sign it without an important offensive player, since the star tight end Travis Kelce was absent, having been subjected to the protocol of the COVID-19.
What stands out when I look at Pittsburgh’s season as a whole is that this team doesn’t score a lot of points and it’s often laborious. Ben Roethlisberger has a hard time generating big plays through the air. It takes a lot of plays to cross the field, and explosive plays are rare. When you have this kind of gap and you move to Arrowhead Stadium, I would tend to say that unless you create a spark that was not there in the regular season, you are in trouble.
There is a very strong chance, at the base, that the Chiefs will score a large amount of points. That’s why I believe surviving the 1st quarter might be the initial mandate of the Steelers. Because by the way, Kansas City is ranked 1st in the NFL for points scored on the 1st offensive sequence of a game. Historically, Andy Reid’s team delivered the goods from the start, and that often resulted in a touchdown.
The Steelers play better in the 2nd half than in the 1st, and that’s understandable, as they regularly had to close big gaps in the last half hour of play. If the hole they created for themselves is too big like that of December 26 in KC, there will not be great hopes of victory there.
All of these factors put together lead me to believe that to witness a triumph for the Steelers, they will need a perfect game, without the slightest clash. It will be necessary to complete the sequences in the paying zone with touchdowns, convert 4th downs, cause turnovers in order to steal a possession or two from Patrick Mahomes, control the time of possession. Also, rookie running back Najee Harris will need to have a strong game so the defense stays fresh on the sidelines.
The idea is not to discourage the supporters of Pittsburgh… In my opinion, they already know that the order will be considerable. I am only trying to illustrate how the performance of the visitors will have to be a flawless journey for the improbable to happen.
Watt opens the scoring with a defensive touchdown
Mahomes lob to Pringle, Chiefs’ 1st lead
