Steelers at Chiefs final score takeaways
The were supposed to be the only good team in football. The were supposed to be one of the most disappointing teams in football. But when the two teams met in Kansas City, the narratives evaporated.Relying on a dominant defensive outing and an efficient , the Steelers rebounded from a disastrous, embarra sing lo s to the by upsetting the previously undefeated Chiefs at Arrowhead, 19-13, on Sunday. The Steelers moved to 4-2 with the win while the Chiefs dropped to 5-1.For three quarters, the game Joe Carter Jersey was a slog. The Steelers jumped out to an early 2-0 lead when a bad shotgun snap flew over head and out of the end zone. SAFETY! NFL (@NFL) The wackine s continued on the next play, when the Chiefs recovered their free kick. WOW! (We practiced this play.) Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) That recovery set up a Chiefs field goal, which gave them a 3-2 lead. It would be their final lead of the game.The Steelers, a week after neglecting the ground game, rode Bell to victory. They pounded the ball with the always patient, always efficient Bell, who scored a touchdown to give the Steelers' a two-sore lead. After a field goal, the Steelers led 12-3 at halftime. It should've been a bigger advantage, though considering the Chiefs had six yards and one first down at halftime. That's how bad the Chiefs were on offense. Or to put it another way, that's how dominant the Steelers' defense was against the top-scoring offense in football.The low-scoring slog suddenly morphed into a fourth-quarter shootout. Seventeen points were scored in the final frame, with 10 of those points belonging to Kansas City. But it wasn't enough. After Smith hooked up with for a 57-yard touchdown, the Chiefs were within two points. Alex Smith extends the play...And takes care of busine s.57-yard TOUCHDOWN! NFL (@NFL) All they needed was a stop. Instead, scored on fluky, but incredible touchdown. HOWWWWW? goes the distance!Touchdown ! NFL (@NFL) The game didn't end there, though. The Chiefs quickly journeyed into field goal range, kicked a field goal, and then forced a three-and-out at the two-minute warning. An explosive punt return set up Smith near midfield. They needed a touchdown to win the game.A ended that dream, though. After the sack on third down, Smith's final last-gasp pa s on fourth down fell incomplete. And the Chiefs' unbeaten season was no more Blank Jersey . Read on for four takeaways:1. Steelers shuts down Chiefs' top offenseThe Chiefs entered the game averaging 32.8 points per game -- the most in football. They scored 13 points on Sunday. It'd be easy to blame the Chiefs' offense -- the line got manhandled, Smith mi sed open receivers, and Kareem Hunt couldn't break free for most of the night -- but it makes more sense to give credit to the Steelers' defense, which pitched one of the best games of the year.In the first half, they held the Steelers to one first down and six yards. The Chiefs finally found some more room to operate in the fourth quarter, but they still finished with 12 first downs, 4.8 yards per play, and lost the time of po se sion battle by a significant margin (36:39 to 23:21). Alex Smith's hot ending turned his putrid stat line into respectable numbers -- 19 of 34 for 246 yards, one touchdown, no picks, and an 88.6 pa ser rating -- but they were nowhere near his numbers from earlier this season. He entered the game with a 125.8 pa ser rating.Like Smith, rookie running back sensation finally got going late in the game, but for three quarters, he was completely bottled up, as the Steelers' defense Zach Duke Jersey continually swarmed and gang-tackled him. Hunt finished with 21 yards on nine carries -- he was averaging 6.3 yards per carry entering the game. He did, however, break free for 89 receiving yards on five carries, ensuring he eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark for a sixth straight game, Kareem Hunt is the only player in the Super Bowl era to begin his career with 6 straight games of 100+ scrimmage yards NFL Research (@NFLResearch) Tight end was nowhere to be found. He caught four pa ses for 37 yards.This was an incredible, championship-caliber defensive effort by the Steelers' defense, which entered the game . That defense is the biggest reason why the Steelers are still contenders in the AFC. Give credit to players like (two sacks) and (one very clutch sack), but for the most part, this was a Carlos Baerga Jersey group effort.And it worked.2. More Bell, le s Big BenThe Steelers did what they had to do on offense to win. They gave the ball to Bell and took the game out of hands. Bell functioned as the only consistent player on the offense, carrying the ball 32 times for 184 yards and a score. He added three catches for 12 yards. Without Bell, the Steelers don't win that game. Meanwhile, Roethlisberger's disappointing season continued after a five-pick outing last week. His stat line was fine -- 17 of 25 for 252 yards, one touchdown, one pick, and a 97.4 pa ser rating -- but it benefited significantly from the tipped, fluky touchdown pa s to Brown. Still, it's worth noting that his pick appeared to be on Brown for a miscommunication.The point being, the Steelers' pa sing game is still out of sync. And it's an i sue they'll need to get corrected if they hope to represent the AFC in the . In the meantime, as Big Ben figures out his i sues, they can continue to lean on their defense and ground game.3. Did Andy Reid's decision backfire?In the fourth quarter, the Chiefs trailed by nine points and they faced a fourth-and-2 at the 4-yard line. The Chiefs needed two scores to win the game, but they still chose to go for the touchdown. It didn't work. Smith's pa s fell incomplete and everyone on social media second gue sed Andy Reid's decision. If Reid had decided to kick the field goal, they would've trailed by a single score (12-6) and Smith's touchdown pa Lonnie Chisenhall Jersey s to Thomas on their next drive would've given them the lead. Man, does Andy Reid not kicking the field goal look huge now. Michael David Smith (@MichaelDavSmith) Then again, the Chiefs were struggling to move the ball all evening. And with the way things were going, it wasn't insane for Reid to believe that a fourth-and-2 from inside the 5-yard line was going to be their best chance of the game to score a touchdown they needed to get at some point. Furthermore, their failure to get a touchdown meant the Steelers took over at their own 4-yard line, which contributed to the Chiefs' starting position on their next drive. (if the Chiefs had kicked a field goal, the Steelers would have had better field position on the next drive and things are different anyway) Arif Hasan (@ArifHasanNFL) The situation is impo sible to play out. In hindsight, yes, the Chiefs should've kicked a field goal. But it sure was easy to criticize the decision after the play failed. If Reid's decision had paid off with a touchdown, then we'd be praising Reid for his gutsy, aggre sive decision. My biggest critique? On that play, the Chiefs went