After initial difficulties, the Kansas City Chiefs easily prevailed 42:21 once morest the Pittsburgh Steelers in the wildcard playoffs. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes delivered a gala performance with five touchdown passes. Now it’s time for a cracker in the Divisional Round.
Both offenses started very cautiously and played for safety with short passes and the run game, which led to a total of five punts in the first five drives of the game.
Then, however, Chiefs receiver Mecole Hardman managed a 48-yard punt return just before the red zone. However, the Chiefs made nothing of it. Rather, edge rusher TJ Watt smacked a pass from Patrick Mahomes off the line and linebacker Devin Bush grabbed the interception.
After that, the punt parade continued until the Steelers defense managed another highlight play: The Chiefs tried the wildcat, but ultimately running back Darrel Williams lost the ball twice following a hand-off from Hardman – the second time it was Watt on hand and carried the leather to a 26-yard fumble return touchdown. The shocking tour for the guests!
The Chiefs, however, were unimpressed and turned up the heat from then on. Five Chiefs series with five touchdowns in a row followed and the game was decided following less than six minutes in the second half.
The main point was that the Steelers, following the second Chiefs TD regarding two minutes before the break, were unable to either hit back once more or at least downplay the clock. Instead, they stopped the clock themselves twice – once because Pat Freiermuth ran unnecessarily out of bounds, once once more because of an incompletion on 3rd down. Ultimately, Mahomes got the ball back 52 seconds before the break and found Travis Kelce for a 22-yard touchdown pass to make it 21:7 twelve seconds before the break.
Chiefs clear the playbook following the break
After the break, the home side marched to the 1-yard line and Mahomes found tackle-eligible Nick Allegretti for a 1-yard touchdown. In return, Najee Harris lost a fumble at the Steelers and just two plays later, Mahomes finally threw his fifth TD pass in the game to Tyreek Hill for 31 yards.
As a result, the Steelers also managed a touchdown by Diontae Johnson, who had previously attracted attention with several drops. But the joy didn’t last too long, because the Chiefs immediately put down another long drive, which ended with a special TD. Kelce took the snap from the shotgun with Mahomes well behind him and in front of the snap in motion, then threw a precision pass down the middle to Pringle in the end zone. After that, Pittsburgh only ran some cosmetic results until the end.
This success will see a repeat of last year’s AFC Championship Game between the Chiefs and Bills next week. The Tennessee Titans, meanwhile, are the top seed in the conference once morest the Cincinnati Bengals.
NFL Wildcard Playoffs: Kansas City Chiefs vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
Result: 42:21 (0:0, 21:7, 14:7, 7:7) BOXSCORE
Chiefs vs Steelers key stats
- Kelce had 100 receiving yards in a playoff game for the fourth straight year. In doing so, he tied with Larry Fitzgerald and ex-Steeler Antonio Brown for the longest such streak. In addition, he is the first player to also have 100 receiving yards, a touchdown pass, and a touchdown catch in a playoff game.
-
Mahomes threw at least 5 touchdown passes in a playoff game for the second time in his career. He’s only the third QB to do so multiple times, following Kurt Warner and Daryle Lamonica.
-
Before that, Mahomes threw his first playoff interception on home soil (7 games). It was also his first interception ever once morest the Steelers (3 games).
-
For Watt, it was the first touchdown of his career. He does the same as his brother JJ Watt, whose first NFL touchdown also happened in the playoffs. The older Watt brother had a pick six in the 2011 wildcard game once morest the Bengals.
The Star of the Game: Patrick Mahomes (Quarterback, Chiefs)
After a less glorious start, Mahomes suddenly found his way into the game following his unfortunate interception and began to roll over his opponent with his offense. He threw five touchdown passes, patiently took what was offered and made plays with his feet accordingly. Ultimately, it was mainly thanks to him that the game ended so clearly.
The Flop of the Match: Ben Roethlisberger (Quarterback, Steelers)
In what was probably his last game in the NFL, Roethlisberger had a difficult time right from the start and didn’t get any help from his O-Line or his receivers – Johnson in particular dropped some better passes. But in the end Roethlisberger was no help himself and threw a lot of imprecise passes, especially with his few deep shots, which might have opened up the game a bit for the guests. He was also lucky that he didn’t throw at least two interceptions. So it remained an inglorious departure for the Steelers and their veteran.
Analysis: Chiefs vs. Steelers – the Tactical Table
-
Anyone watching the Steelers over the past few weeks and months knew exactly what to expect from them offensively. Lots of short passes via screens, checkdowns and the like. Lots of run pass options and Roethlisberger getting rid of the balls as quickly as possible. Accordingly, the Chiefs were prepared for this and stopped the Steelers in front of the sticks for long stretches of the game with zone coverage and mostly two deep safeties.
-
The Chiefs, on the other hand, played very patiently offensively and Mahomes took what the Steelers offered him. Since they mostly acted in the zone and with 2-high looks, short passes and the run game often went through the middle. If the Steelers then played man coverage, Mahomes used that for scrambles or used his matchup advantages over Hill, Kelce and Co.
-
The Steelers often used a spy on Mahomes for man coverage, but then a cover player for the running back – usually McKinnon – was usually missing, so that in such cases a screen or checkdown followed on the same.
-
The Chiefs defense didn’t really hide from Roethlisberger and just blitzed him in almost 40 percent of his dropbacks in the first half, later that number went down a bit, but the defensive front stayed aggressive enough to keep Roethlisberger under pressure.
.
