“I don’t know….maybe I just don’t’ have it anymore.” No football fan wants to hear those words coming from their team leader and Big Ben’s words haunted every Pittsnurgh fan all week long. But the Steelers showed that not only do they have “it”, but they have so much more. The boys in black and yellow didn’t stop at breaking hearts in Kansas City, they also broke a few record too!
Coming off of a demoralizing loss last week, the 3-2 Pittsburgh Steerlers came into Kansas City looking for a win against the undefeated 5-0 Chiefs and they began by making a statement early. By the time there was three minutes left in the second quarter, Le’Veon Bell had racked up 106 yards on his own; in comparison, the entire Chiefs’ team only gained nine rushing yards. The Steeler’s offense ran smart and efficient plays, earning themselves 16 first downs in the first half alone.
The commentators mused about how they cannot remember a time in recent history when a team failed to secure one first down in the first half and that pretty much summed it all up. The best team in the league looked ragged and their defense seemed exhausted at the end of every play.
Kansas City tried and failed to hold back Antonio Brown, who was involved in just about every offensive play the Steelers ran. Whispers of Le’Veon Bell being rusty as a result of missing training camp quickly became nonexistent as he plowed through multiple Chiefs defenders and racked up yardage. After his second touchdown, Bell was flagged for “unnecessary roughness” during an end zone celebration that involved boxing the field goal post. But when Juice is loose, there is not much that can slow him down.
Alex Smith was able to connect with Kareem Hunt for a 37 yard run late in the third in an attempt to revive his offense. D. Thomas also scored a TD for the Chiefs with six minutes left in the fourth quarter, but it was ultimately not enough.
Le’Veon Bell had another monster game, finishing with 191 total yards, while his buddy Antonio Brown had 8 catches for 155 yards. AB passed Lynn Swann for third-most touchdown receptions in team history. Pittsburgh handed Kansas their first loss this season, finishing 19-13 behind Big Ben’s 252 yards bounce back. Next week the Steelers must defend their home record at Heinz field against Andy Dalton and the Bengals.
