Three reasons the Chiefs win over the Steelers was a game changer
The Pittsburgh Steelers no longer own the Kansas City Chiefs
When I say that the Steelers have flat out dominated the Kansas City Chiefs for a very long time, it is not hyperbole. The Chiefs had not beaten the Steelers in Pittsburgh in THIRTY YEARS. The Chiefs lost a close game at Arrowhead last year 19-13. In the 2016 season the Steelers both throttled the Chiefs 43-14 in Pittsburgh and then went to Arrowhead and bounced the Chiefs out of the playoffs in the divisional round. The only recent win they’ve had against the Steelers was in 2015, when Landry Jones started for an injured Ben Roethlisberger.
The Steelers appeared to not only be a better team in recent years, they seemed to mentally affect the Chiefs. The Steelers would punch the Chiefs right in the mouth (sometimes literally) and the Chiefs just never would have an answer. On Sunday that wasn’t the case. The Chiefs were the team that came out swinging and despite an impressive second quarter comeback by the Steelers, the Chiefs remained the aggressor throughout the game.
When the Steelers erased the Chiefs early 21-0 lead you could feel the collective Chiefs Kingdom tense up. I’m guessing I wasn’t the only one thinking “Here we go again!”. Only this time the Chiefs would not lay down. The Chiefs offense led by Patrick Mahomes (more on him later) would not let up. They had three straight touchdown drives to start the second half and the Chiefs finished with an impressive 42 total points scored.
Those 42 points is just one point shy of their total combined points from their three previous loses to the Steelers from the last two seasons when they failed to score more than 16 points in any one game.
The Chiefs made a statement on Sunday. They are not the same team that the Steelers have had their way with in recent years. Being free of that psychological hold that a fellow AFC playoff contender has had on them is huge moving forward. There have been two regular powers in the AFC playoffs in recent years, the Steelers and the New England Patriots. The Chiefs have been able to have some (regular season) success against the Patriots. Now they proved they can not only hang with, but go on the road and beat the Steelers too.
That’s a game changer for this franchise.
Next up, what this win means when looking at the rest of the schedule.