Kansas City Chiefs: Pittsburgh Steelers are public enemy number one
The Kansas City Chiefs host the Pittsburgh Steelers this Sunday afternoon in a rivalry that has become pretty one-sided.
A few seasons ago, it appeared that the Kansas City Chiefs‘ kryptonite was the Denver Broncos. They could never beat the Broncos, no matter what. That all changed late in the 2015 season when the Chiefs put the smackdown on the Broncos IN Denver.
In 2016, the Chiefs swept the Broncos for the first time since 2000 and we all saw the ensuing result. Kansas City would go on to win the AFC West and have one of their best regular seasons ever.
Getting over the hump of beating the Broncos was a big one for the Chiefs, but now… They have to get over another hump, and that’s beating the Pittsburgh Steelers, a team who has had Kansas City’s number over the better part of a decade.
The Chiefs must capitalize on Pittsburgh’s uncertainties right now.
Since Ben Roethlisberger joined the Steelers in 2004, it’s been a one-sided affair for the two teams with Pittsburgh going 6-2 against the Chiefs during that span. One of those losses was in overtime in 2009 when Big Ben didn’t play the whole game and the other one came when Roethlisberger wasn’t even playing, so in theory, Big Ben has gone 6-0 against Kansas City. Gross.
When you ask Chiefs fans who their biggest rival is, the easy answers are the Broncos and the Raiders. Outside of the division, some might say Houston, some might say Indianapolis, but those of us who have watched the Chiefs for years know that the correct answer is Pittsburgh.
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The Steelers have, for lack of a better term, whooped the Chiefs’ ass over the past 15 years or so. Even in years when the Chiefs have been favored to beat them (See the playoffs last year), Kansas City still manages to come up short.
When it comes to other teams in the AFC, the Chiefs have conquered them. They’ve owned the AFC West for the last two years (despite not winning it in 2015, they still went 5-1 in it), knocked off the defending champions on their home turf in the Patriots, and now the only test that the doubters are waiting for is to see if this team can take down the Pittsburgh Steelers.
In both games last year, the Chiefs lost. One game was an embarrassing blowout on Sunday Night Football in Pittsburgh and the other was that horrid playoff loss where the Steelers didn’t score a touchdown, but still managed to win the game. Frustrating doesn’t even begin to describe the feeling after that loss.
It’s time for the Kansas City Chiefs to tackle this obstacle and prove that they’re for real. The Steelers are going through some drama right now, with Big Ben questioning if he still has it, Antonio Brown apologizing for being a distraction after knocking over a water cooler, and Le’Veon Bell wondering why he’s not getting more carries.
The Chiefs must capitalize on Pittsburgh’s uncertainties right now. If they can do that and win this game, I just might be on board that Super Bowl train. First thing’s first though, the Chiefs finally have to beat an opponent they’ve had little luck against in the past decade.