AFC Wild Card
(7) Pittsburgh Steelers at (2) Kansas City Chiefs
Steelers: It was looking bleak at one point, but here they are. The organization and the fanbase should be saying thank you to the entire Las Vegas Raiders organization because, without them, they are not in this position. The last few weeks have been an emotional roller coaster because more than likely, Ben Roethlisberger will hang it up and call it a career after 18 years in our league. On Sunday in the finale, the Steelers had to grind that game out in Baltimore. It just felt like a classic Steelers and Ravens game. The weather was a factor and both defenses stepped it up. Speaking of defense, how about T.J. Watt? If he doesn’t get Defensive MVP this year, I will rant for him. He just tied Michael Strahan for the most sacks in a single season with 22.5. I remember saying for the Steelers to be successful, he had to play to show why they made him the highest-paid defensive player in the league. In that game in Baltimore on Sunday, I saw a bit of “Vintage Ben”. What I’m saying is when he needed to make key passes, he did it. I saw him fit the ball into those tight windows as he’s been accustomed to doing. Here they are and on Sunday night, they will face the second seed in the AFC.
Chiefs: If you look back to every year since Patrick became the starting quarterback, they’ve been able to breeze through regular seasons. This was truly the first year that they were dealing with adversity. I’m talking about the slow starts, the defense playing horribly, and not seeing a confident football team as we’ve seen in years past. Next, they go on to win eight in a row and I see a completely different team. The offense picked its spots and the defense was truly the catalyst behind the winning streak. The difference was communication and I said this on “The Prime” the other day. There’s no way a defense can succeed without communication across the board. Now, I haven’t liked what I’ve seen from them in their last two games. Against the Bengals, the secondary continued to play Ja’Marr Chase in man coverage with no help over the top. Then, against the Broncos, I said the Chiefs needed to come out and make a statement because they couldn’t afford to go into the postseason struggling. They won that game against Denver because of a fumble recovery. But here they are. Winners of the AFC West once again, another home playoff game, and the two seed. This is still the team to take down. They’re back home Sunday night.
Steelers X-Factor: Najee Harris– For the Steelers offense to move and click on all cylinders, it must go through the rookie running back. I know they’ve struggled to run the ball, but at least they try to get him going in different ways. Najee is a dual-threat back that can also catch the football out the backfield. If you’ve followed along with him, I’ve compared him to Matt Forte. They each have similar skillsets.
Chiefs X-Factor: Mecole Hardman– He’s their slot specialist. This is another target for the quarterback that can also get down the field and take that top off the coverage. During the winning streak, I saw Patrick get the ball too many other receivers, Mecole was one of them. He can burn a defense with his speed and with the Steelers giving most of their attention to Tyreek and Travis, he’ll be free to roam around to make plays.
Final Analysis: These teams just met on December 26th and the Chiefs absolutely destroyed the Steelers. I thought it was their best all-around win of the season. This will be the third meeting ever between Roethlisberger and Mahomes. For the Steelers to shock the world, they must slow the game down. The Chiefs are still struggling to stop the run. Why not exploit that weakness? I need to see if this Kansas City defense can regroup and get back to playing how they did when they won eight in a row. I also need to see the Chiefs get back to running the football. I was impressed with them when they leaned upon the ground game.
Prediction: Chiefs 31, Steelers 20
