Pittsburgh Steelers Report Card Roundup Over Kansas City Chiefs
By Larry Snyder
The members of Steelers Country were given an early Christmas gift on Sunday afternoon, as Pittsburgh defeated the Kansas City Chiefs 20-12 to clinch a playoff spot.
The future is now as Mike Tomlin‘s crew captured their spot in the playoffs with a 10-5 record and have a shot at the AFC North Division title in their showdown this week at Heinz Field with the Cincinnati Bengals. Cincy has a 10-4-1 record after they corralled the Denver Broncos at home 37-28 on Monday night.
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If the Steelers beat the Bengals on Sunday night in the regular-season finale, they would go into the new year with their first division title since 2010. Pittsburgh would be the No. 3 seed in the AFC, and they would claim a playoff contest at Heinz Field.
Time to grab another cup of eggnog and look in on press row again to check what grades the experts gave the Black and Gold for their efforts against Kansas City.
Bleacher Report – Mike Batista was impressed that the offensive line gave up just one sack and it was just the third time in the past four games that Roethlisberger has been sacked. He gave the group a B+.
CBS Local – Christina Rivers gave special teams a B as she liked how punter Brad Wing and placekicker Shaun Suisham took care of business and the coverage team held the Chiefs in check.
ESPN – Chris Brown liked how Le’Veon Bell‘s 63 yards on the ground opened up the middle of the field for tight end Heath Miller, who hauled in seven passes for 68 yards. He awarded Bell a B-.
FirstStopFantasy.com – The guys at FirstStop awarded the linebackers A+ and how everyone is producing at the right time for the playoff push.
Pittsburgh Sporting News – Matt Shetler gave the defensive line an A this week as both Cam Heyward and Stephon Tuitt contributed to the six sacks of Kansas City quarterback Alex Smith.
Post-Gazette – Gerry Dulac points to the fact that Ben Roethlisberger did not commit a turnover for the third game in a row. His quarterback grade this time out was an A.
How would you grade the Steelers this week? How deep will they go in the playoffs? Let me know in the comments section below.
The remainder of the AFC North plays each other on Sunday as the Cleveland Browns (7-8) travel down the highway to Baltimore to take on the Ravens (9-6). Both teams lost on the road on Sunday as the Ravens were defeated 25-13 by the Texans in Houston while the Browns lost 17-13 to the Panthers in Carolina.
Up Next: One last reminder that the Black and Gold close out the season at Heinz Field against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, Dec. 28. Kickoff has been changed to 8:30 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on NBC’s Sunday Night Football In America.