ESPN says Steelers would give KC Chiefs most trouble in playoffs

Bill Barnwell of ESPN.com wrote an article on playoff teams’ flaws and matchups for those teams to avoid. He said the KC Chiefs should hope they don’t have to face the Steelers in the playoffs.

Bill Barnwell’s article covered the 12 teams currently in the playoffs and discussed what their playoff kryptonite is and a team that would deal them fits in the postseason. For the Kansas City Chiefs, Barnwell said the Chiefs would want to avoid the Pittsburgh Steelers.

This might seem like a weird choice, but it makes sense when Barnwell breaks it down. The Chiefs are very reliant on Patrick Mahomes (but not as much now that their defense has come to life over the past month) and that means they’ll want to steer clear of teams who can get after the quarterback.

Well, that’s where the Steelers come into play.

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"Naturally, the Chiefs will want to avoid teams that batter opposing quarterbacks. No team has given opposing quarterbacks more bumps and bruises than the Steelers, who are second in the league with a sack rate of 9.1%. They have the sixth-highest blitz rate in the league."

The only reason the Steelers are in the playoff picture is because of their stout defense taking games over. Their offense hasn’t been great with Devlin “Duck” Hodges under center and with all of the injuries they’ve sustained on that side of the ball, the Steelers wouldn’t really scare anyone offensively, especially in the playoffs.

Another reason to be a bit intimidated by the Steelers might seem silly, but it’s the historical factor. This is a franchise that, until last year, had Kansas City’s number even when they shouldn’t have. A lot of that was because of the three B’s (Ben, Bell, and Brown), but two of them are no longer in Pittsburgh and the one who still plays for them is out for the year due to injury.

While I get why Barnwell listed the Steelers here, I’d rather the Chiefs face them over the Bills or, if they were to make it, the Titans.

As for what the Chiefs’ playoff kryptonite is, Barnwell said it’d be the health of Patrick Mahomes. No one should be shocked by that, but I might have gone with the run defense here instead. Sure, they’ve been playing better lately, but we’ve all seen what happens when they play teams who can run the ball well and it isn’t a pretty sight.

That being said, Mahomes’ health is obviously very important for the Kansas City Chiefs. They did fine while he was injured, but they’re nowhere near the same threat with him on the sidelines, so I completely understand why this was Barnwell’s pick.

Going back to the match-ups to avoid, Barnwell listed the Chiefs as the team the Ravens would want to avoid in the playoffs. KC was one of two teams to hand Baltimore a loss this year and while that game took place in week three, the Chiefs are 2-0 against the Ravens since they made the switch to Lamar Jackson.

"The Ravens probably don’t want to see Patrick Mahomes again. The reigning MVP was 27-of-37 passing for 374 yards and three touchdowns when the Chiefs beat the Ravens in September, and he has a track record of absolutely shredding defenses who play like the Ravens."

Both teams are different from that week three match-up, but I agree with Barnwell on this one. If there’s any team who could go into Baltimore and beat the Ravens, I’d feel the most confident putting money on the KC Chiefs to do so.

What do you think of what Bill Barnwell had to say, Chiefs fans?

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