PITTSBURGH STEELERS

5 THINGS WE LEARNED IN LOSS TO CHIEFS

The Pittsburgh Steelers fell to the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday in a close game. These are the 5 things we learned from the loss.

The Steelers played a strong Chiefs squad in Pittsburgh Sunday afternoon. After falling behind by three touchdowns the Steelers came back and tied it up by halftime. They fell behind again after the half. Though they once again rallied, they didn’t have enough and lost 42-37.

HERE’S WHAT I LEARNED FROM THE GAME:

THE LE’VEON BELL SITUATION MIGHT RUIN THE SEASON

We can, and we will below, go over a number of problems that lead to the Steelers starting 0-1-1. Unfortunately, we can’t blame Todd Haley anymore. We chased him out of town, to Cleveland, where he put together an offense that tied us. We can still blame Roethlisberger, but not today. Some Steelers fans are ready to call for Tomlin’s firing if they stub their toe or the sun goes down.

But the reason the Steelers have started far more poorly than they should have is primarily the Le’Veon Bell contract situation. The Steelers front office certainly deserve some blame. But ultimately, Le’Veon Bell is tanking the season.

He’s not doing it on accident. That is his goal. Le’Veon Bell and his agent have set up a situation where, in their minds, the worse the Steelers do, the better off Le’Veon Bell is. The subtraction of Bell’s skills is harmful, but Bell has spent much of his career injured or suspended for drug use. They’ve succeeded without him before. It’s the addition of the drama and uncertainty that has infected the team. It’s a dark cloud. They need a psychological umbrella.

CHRIS BOSWELL IS STRUGGLING

Speaking of Bell. A decent chunk of the money the Steelers were prepared to give him ended up with Chris Boswell. The Steelers have a tough time finding kickers. The wind at Heinz field is some kicker curse you need someone able to navigate. When Shaun Suisham got injured the Steelers ran through multiple kickers before finding Boswell.

But he has been struggling this year. There are many examples of players getting their payday and being less motivated. Shaun Alexander from 05 to 06 for example. It could also be that the money has put more pressure on Boswell. It could even be changes in how he works out. Whatever the reason, he’s missed both his field goal attempts and an extra point. He struggling.

SHAZIER’S ABSENCE IS A BIG PROBLEM

So the best player on the Steelers defense is going to be out indefinitely. The Steelers knew this, and yet, almost predictably, they did essentially nothing to resolve this situation. The response was to adapt the defense to lean far more heavily on the secondary.

Obviously, it’s still early days with this defense but 42 points is bad by any standard. There are some occasional bright spots, but it can be struggle to find it. This isn’t the worst defensive performance ever. But there were bad matchups, missed tackles, and no pressure. The defense needs an identity and a leader.

ROETHLISBERGER IS BACK

Ok, let’s find something positive about this game. The previous game was a disaster for Roethlisberger. This game, he fixed it. Sometimes you have an off game. That’s what it was for Ben in Week 1. The proof? 452 yards and 3 touchdowns, including another touchdown on the ground.

Bell is not here. Brown is off to somewhat of a slow start. The offensive line is struggling a bit. But as many strengths as the Steelers have on offense, Roethlisberger is the most important part. And if we can take anything positive from this game, it’s that Ben is not out of gas yet. He’s still got some juice left for this season.

JUJU AND JESSE JAMES

We can point out the offense is still struggling with third downs, but happy thoughts. Focus on the bright side. And Jesse and Juju have been that. With the Killer Bs struggling or at home tweeting and rapping, another letter has stepped up. The letter is J. Juju Smith-Schuster ended up with 121 yards and a touchdown. Jesse James caught 138 yards and a touchdown.

They also had strong performances last week. With all the drama and negativity around this season, it’s nice that we get to see these two young players continue to grow and evolve. As Tomlin always says, the standard is the standard. These two players, not alone but in particular, are doing a lot to try to maintain the standard. Maybe they can play on defense too?

So that’s what I learned. Next stop, the Buccaneers. All I can do is hope for the best.

JESSIE JAMES MY PLAYER OF THE WEEK

JESSE JAMES

TIGHT END

If you’re a lover of offense, if you’re a lover of tight ends running unimpeded through the secondary, Sunday’s game at Heinz Field was for you. In Kansas City’s 42-37 victory over the Steelers today at Heinz Field, the teams’ starting tight ends accounted for 12 catches for 247 yards and three touchdowns. Pittsburgh’s Jesse James accounted for five of those catches for 138 of the yards and one of the touchdowns.

It was James’ first 100-yard receiving game in the NFL, and he averaged 27.6 yards per catch to lead all players in that category on a day when there were four 100-yard receivers and 924 combined total net yards of offense.

James is my Steelers Player of the Week.

Also considered were JuJu Smith-Schuster, who had 13 catches for 121 yards and a touchdown; Ben Roethlisberger, who missed most of the week of practice with a bruised throwing elbow and yet came on to complete 39-of-60 (65 percent) for 452 yards, with three touchdowns, no interceptions, and a rating of 104.3, and he also gained 9 yards on two carries and scored a 3-yard touchdown; and Cam Heyward, who had three tackles, plus two hits on the quarterback and a forced fumble that Anthony Chickillo recovered for the Steelers’ only takeaway of the game.

THIS IS NOT A SLOW START BY THE PITTSBURGH STEELERS

The clock struck zero and the Pittsburgh Steelers fell to 0-1-1 in what is turning into a frightful season.

No one saw a comeback happening 10 minutes into the opening quarter, but when it started, it felt natural. “The Pittsburgh Steelers start the season slow once again,” would ring throughout the headlines as they improved to 1-0-1.

We’ve seen it before. None of this was something to be worrisome of, as they simply needed a kick start to get going. Ben Roethlisberger played three series in seven months, prior to the regular season. The defense dealt with injuries throughout the summer, and Le’Veon Bell was blasted into the players all offseason.

None of it was going to drag into the season. And none of it has.

Five minutes left in the fourth quarter and you began to come back to reality. The realization of Pittsburgh not being as good as their expectations hit quickly, as too many issues started to become worse.

The Pittsburgh Steelers aren’t off to a slow start; they have problems that need to be addressed. Immediately.

Say what you want about Ben Roethlisberger’s performance, it was as good as you can ask for. You can’t expect perfection when you ask for 60 passes. 452 yards and three touchdowns and 37 points should lead to a win more times than not.

It’s also not James Conner. Le’Veon Bell is not needed on this offense in any significant form. Conner provides a quality runner, who’s been reliable in pass blocking and from what Sunday showed, has improved on his receiving skills. He’s the future and has earned his reps moving forward. A number that should be higher than eight.

The clear and most lethal issue is the defense. From coverage to pass rush to run defense, this unit has not been there. It’s already proving to be something that, if not corrected, is going to drag them down.

It starts with the play calling. Maybe it’s not time to jump on the fire Keith Butler bandwagon, but it is time to hold him accountable. The talent isn’t excellent, but there are enough pieces to tape together something better than 42 points and six passing touchdowns.

For starters, the pass rush was nonexistent. Week 1, T.J. Watt and Bud Dupree are mad men rushing the quarterback. Week 2, no serious pressure off the side. You can’t expect to slow down a quarterback this hot with an injured secondary, there needs to be pressure.

Stephon Tuitt and Cameron Heyward were off and on with their success getting to Patrick Mahomes. It was evident from the start, and should’ve have been corrected by halftime. But nothing, leaving fans questioning decisions, once again.

It’s more than on the field decisions, though. Some of this stoops as low as fundamentals. Time and time again, throughout the preseason, and today, we watched as tackles were missed. Sammy Watkins started the beginning to the end by basically walking through Mike Hilton.

Early in the offseason, James Harrison labeled the biggest problem within the defense as miscommunication. The addition of Morgan Burnett and added years to T.J. Watt, Sean Davis and Artie Burns, it was somewhat assumed that it was just going to be solved. It’s not.

It started with Hilton and Burnett not covering the middle of the field, Terrell Edmunds missing a tackle, and it never stopped. Pittsburgh is not ready for the regular season, and that responsibility begins with the coaching staff.

These need to be corrected. Two weeks into the season is not a time to panic, but it is a time to adjust. Butler needs to take advantage of how early it is in the season, use this time to fix this defense, and hope there’s enough to put Pittsburgh back on track.

This team is already two games into the AFC title race, and the start is not helping their chances. They’re not going to catch up without making the proper corrections. We witnessed the potential in Week 1. There’s confidence this can be solved. All of which starts with the coaching.

STEELERS DROP HOME OPENER TO CHIEFS, 42-37

The Steelers dug themselves into a hole early, and weren’t able to fully get out of it, losing to the Chiefs, 42-37, at Heinz Field.

Not enough detail, not enough big-play making or execution, winning those one-on-one downs. And we didn’t play penalty free enough. I thought penalties were an issue for us early on in terms of stopping us the first three possessions of the game. I thought penalties were a factor for us defensively in the second half. Not good enough today. We have a lot of work to do.”

The Chiefs scored on their first three possessions to go up 21-0, while the Steelers offense wasn’t able to muster anything early on. Despite fighting back to tie the game, 21-21, and again, 28-28, they couldn’t hold off the Chiefs.

The offense started slow, but came to life late with Ben Roethlisberger completing 39 passes for 452 yards and three touchdowns. Jesse James, who is My Player of the Week, had five receptions for 138 yards and a touchdown, while JuJu Smith-Schuster had 13 receptions for 121 yards.

The Chiefs got off to a fast start thanks to special teams. The Steelers went three-and-out on their first possession, forcing a Jordan Berry punt. Berry’s punt, which was kicked away from Tyreek Hill, was fielded by De’Anthony Thomas. Thomas returned it 31 yards, then fumbled, forced by Cameron Sutton, and recovered his own fumble and returned it 12 more yards to the Steelers 10-yard line.

The Chiefs took advantage of the excellent field position. An offensive pass interference call on Travis Kelce backed them up a little bit, but Patrick Mahomes hit Chris Conley in the end zone for a 15-yard touchdown, putting the Chiefs up 7-0 in the early going.

The Steelers offense struggled on their next possession, losing three yards on the drive, and once again Berry was called upon. His second punt of the day traveled only 39 yards, but a holding call pushed it back 10 more yards. The Chiefs weren’t deterred as their offense kept clicking and the drive was capped by a 19-yard touchdown pass from Mahones to Kelce to extend the Chiefs lead to 14-0.

Roethlisberger and company came to life on the next drive. Roethlisberger hit James for 14 yards, and James Conner got 22 yards on the catch and run. Roethlisberger hit Antonio Brown for 19 yards, but after that the drive stalled. Chris Boswell’s 49-yard field goal attempt went wide left, and the Steelers walked away empty handed.

The lead was extended to 21-0 when Mahones hit Kareem Hunt for a five-yard touchdown.

With their backs against the wall, it looked like things might get even worse on the Steelers next drive. Roethlisberger was sacked by Justin Houston, who forced a fumble that Chris Jones recovered and took in for a touchdown. But a holding call on Orlando Scandrick negated the play, and gave the Steelers new life. Smith-Schuster came up with three key catches, going for 19, 12 and 14 yards. Roethlisberger aired it out to Jesse James, who pulled in a 26-yard touchdown grab to get the Steelers on the board and close the gap to 21-7.

A fired-up defense shut down the Chiefs, with Dan McCullers getting to Mahomes for his first sack of the season and the Chiefs were forced to punt.

The momentum continued to swing in the Steelers direction. Roethlisberger led the offense on an 11-play, 85-yard drive that was aided by a 14-yard catch by Ryan Switzer and 20-yard grab by Jesse James. Smith-Schuster caught one for nine yards, Vance McDonald pulled in an 11-yard reception, and Smith-Schuster added an 11-yard catch to the four-yard line. Roethlisberger capped the drive with a two-yard touchdown pass to Smith-Schuster, to cut the lead to 21-13 after Boswell’s extra point went wide right.

Another defensive stop meant another opportunity for Roethlisberger to get the team back in the game. And that is exactly what he did. Starting at their own 10-yard line Roethlisberger engineered a precision drive with key receptions by Jesse James for 31 yards, and Antonio Brown for 10 yards. Roethlisberger capped the drive hitting James Washington for a 14-yard touchdown, his first NFL catch. The Steelers went for two, and tied it up, 21-21, heading into halftime when Roethlisberger hit Conner in the flat.

The Chiefs came out in the second half in the same manner they did in the first half, scoring on their first possession when Mahomes found a wide-open Kelce for a 25-yard touchdown to take back the lead, 28-21.

Not to be outdone, the Steelers came right back. Smith-Schuster had catches of 15 and 21 yards, and Roosevelt Nix had a 19-yard catch to the Chiefs five-yard line. The Steelers were aided by a pass interference call on Steven Nelson, which negated his own interception. Conner took it in from the one-yard line to tie the game again, 28-28.

The back and forth continued on the next drive when the Chiefs went 75 yards on seven plays, ending on a three-yard touchdown pass to Demarcus Robinson that was originally ruled incomplete, but the Chiefs challenged the call on the field and it was overturned, putting them back on top 35-28.

The Chiefs added to their lead on their next drive, with Mahomes finding Hill for a 29-yard scoring strike, giving them a 42-28 edge.

After the offense couldn’t move the ball, Jordan Berry buried the Chiefs deep at the one-yard line. The defense stepped up when Artie Burns and Morgan Burnett tackled Hunt in the end zone for a safety.

The Steelers pulled to within a touchdown late in the game when Roethlisberger scrambled for a three-yard touchdown, but it they weren’t able to complete the comeback.

A LOOK AT HOW THEY SCORED:

FIRST QUARTER: Steelers 0, Chiefs 7

SCORING PLAY: Patrick Mahomes 15-yard touchdown pass to Chris Conley.

SCORING SUMMARY: 2-10-1:03

FIRST QUARTER: Steelers 0, Chiefs 14

SCORING PLAY: Patrick Mahomes 19-yard touchdown pass to Travis Kelce.

SCORING SUMMARY: 5-71-2:32

FIRST QUARTER: Steelers 0, Chiefs 21

SCORING PLAY: Patrick Mahomes five-yard touchdown pass to Kareem Hunt.

SCORING SUMMARY: 6-61-2:40

SECOND QUARTER: Steelers 7, Chiefs 21

SCORING PLAY: Ben Roethlisberger 26-yard touchdown pass to Jesse James.

SCORING SUMMARY: 6-81-3:04

SECOND QUARTER: Steelers 13, Chiefs 21

SCORING PLAY: Ben Roethlisberger two-yard touchdown pass to JuJu Smith-Schuster. (Chris Boswell’s kick failed – wide right)

SCORING SUMMARY: 11-85-5:41

SECOND QUARTER: Steelers 21, Chiefs 21

SCORING PLAY: Ben Roethlisberger 14-yard touchdown pass to James Washington. Roethlisberger to James Conner for two-point conversion.

SCORING SUMMARY: 10-90-2:48

THIRD QUARTER: Steelers 21, Chiefs 28

SCORING PLAY: Patrick Mahones 25-yard pass to Travis Kelce.

SCORING SUMMARY: 5-75-2:18

THIRD QUARTER: Steelers 28, Chiefs 28

SCORING PLAY: James Conner one-yard touchdown run.

SCORING SUMMARY: 11-75-5:30

THIRD QUARTER: Steelers 28, Chiefs 35

SCORING PLAY: Patrick Mahomes three-yard touchdown pass to Demarcus Robinson.

SCORING SUMMARY: 7-75-3:57

FOURTH QUARTER: Steelers 30, Chiefs 42

SCORING PLAY: Kareem Hunt tackle in the end zone for a safety (Artie Burns, Morgan Burnett).

FOURTH QUARTER: Steelers 37, Chiefs 42

SCORING PLAY: Ben Roethlisberger three-yard touchdown run.

SCORING SUMMARY: 9-66-3:04

WHAT WENT RIGHT, WRONG VS. KANSAS CITY

The highs and lows of the Steelers matchup vs. the Kansas City Chiefs.

COIN TOSS: Chiefs call heads. It’s heads. Kansas City defers. Steelers get the football.

What Went Wrong: The first 115 seconds of the game proceeded as badly as possible for the Steelers. After receiving the opening kickoff, the offense went three-and-out, with Ben Roethlisberger throwing incomplete on first and third downs, with a second down completion being marred by an illegal block penalty that was declined. Jordan Berry’s punt traveled 44 yards and was fielded by up-back DeAnthony Thomas, who raced 53 yards to the Steelers 10-yard line. Three plays later. Patrick Mahomes gave the Chiefs a 7-0 lead with a 15-yard pass to Chris Conley.

What Went Wrong: Through the Steelers’ first two offensive series, Ben Roethlisberger was 2-for-5 for minus-2 yards, and James Conner had one carry for minus-3 yards. The Steelers went three-and-out both times.

What Went Wrong: The Chiefs extended their lead to 14-0 with a second touchdown on their second possession. This one came on a 19-yard pass from Patrick Mahomes to Travis Kelce. The big play on the five-play 71-yard drive was a 40-yard pass to Sammy Watkins that was completed down the right sideline between cornerback Cam Sutton and free safety Sean Davis. With 9:08 left in the first quarter, the Steelers were down by two touchdowns.

What Went Wrong: Things continued on a downward trend for the Steelers when the offense moved into position for Chris Boswell to attempt a 49-yard field goal, but the kick was wide left. The key plays on the drive to get that far were a 22-yard catch-and-run by James Conner in which he broke three tackles, and a 19-yard reception by Antonio Brown. On third-and-5 from the Chiefs 31-yard line, Ben Roethlisberger’s pass for James Washington was high and incomplete.

What Went Wrong: It became a 21-0 deficit with 2:24 remaining in the first quarter after a six-play, 61-yard drive stuck the ball in the end zone for a third time in their first three offensive possessions. Sammy Watkins was the author of two big plays on the drive – the first a 17-yard reception and the second a 31-yard run on a jet-sweep. The touchdown came on a 5-yard pass to Kareem Hunt in the left flat where the Kansas City running back ran through a Terrell Edmunds tackle to get into the end zone.

What Went Right: It looked like a strip-sack-recovery and a scoop-and-score touchdown by defensive end Chris Jones, but the Steelers got a huge break when CB Orlando Scandrick was flagged for holding, which gave the Steelers a first down and kept their deficit at 21-0 at the end of the first quarter.

FIRST QUARTER: CHIEFS 21, STEELERS 0

What Went Right: The Orlando Scandrick mistake ended up on the scoreboard as the Steelers cut their deficit to 21-7 with 14:20 left in the second quarter following a 26-yard touchdown pass to Jesse James. On the six-play, 81-yard drive, JuJu Smith-Schuster caught three passes for 45 yards.

What Went Right: It followed a three-and-out, and it took 11 plays, and it consumed 85 yards in 5:41, but with 6:27 remaining in the second quarter, it was a ballgame at Heinz Field following a 2-yard touchdown pass to JuJu Smith-Schuster. In addition to the scoring play, Smith-Schuster also caught two other passes for 20 yards, and Vance McDonald had one catch for 11 yards and had a key block on one of Smith-Schuster’s receptions. The one annoying tidbit was that Chris Boswell missed the extra point, and so the Steelers trailed, 21-13.

What Went Right: It wasn’t a three-and-out, but when Cam Heyward put a hit on Patrick Mahomes to break up a pass attempt on third-and-12, the Steelers forced a punt and ended up with the ball at their own 10-yard line with 3:06 remaining in the first half following a Chiefs punt.

What Went Right: Well, after all that, with 18 seconds left in the first half, the Steelers had battled all the way back to tie the game, 21-21, thanks to a 10-play, 90-yard touchdown drive that was capped by a 14-yard touchdown pass to James Washington, which was also his first catch in a regular season NFL game. Key plays on the drive were a 31-yard reception by Jesse James, a 15-yard pass interference penalty on LB Terrance Smith, and a 10-yard reception by Antonio Brown. Following the score, the Steelers elected to go for a two-point conversion, and James Conner took Ben Roethlisberger’s pass in the flat and powered across the goal line to forge the tie.

HALFTIME: STEELERS, 21, CHIEFS 21

What Went Wrong: When the Chiefs score, they score quickly. Taking the second half kickoff, the Chiefs took a 28-21 lead thanks to a five-play, 75-yard drive that ended with a 25-yard pass to a wide open Travis Kelce down the middle of the field. The drive started with a 36-yard catch-and-run by Tyreek Hill on the first play of the possession.

What Went Right: Another touchdown by James Conner capped an 11-play, 75-yard drive that allowed the Steelers to tie the game again with 7:12 remaining in the third period. The key plays on the tying drive were two catches by Smith-Schuster for a combined 30 yards, and then there was an ass in the flat to FB Rosie Nix that turned into a 19-yard gain. A potential interception by Steven Nelson in the end zone was negated by his own pass interference penalty that allowed him to get into position to make that play.

What Went Wrong: Travis Kelce was having himself quite the afternoon and he was a big part of the 75-yard touchdown drive that returned the lead to the Chiefs, 35-28 with 3:15 remaining in the third period. Kelce caught two passes for 40 yards to get the ball into position for a 3-yard touchdown pass to Demarcus Robinson.

THIRD QUARTER: CHIEFS 35, STEELERS 28

What Went Wrong: The Kansas City offense was giving the impression of being unstoppable following another touchdown in the third quarter – a 29-yard pass to Tyreek Hill that capped off a five-play, 65-yard drive that upped the Chiefs lead to 42-28 with 13:42 remaining in the fourth quarter. At the end of that drive, Mahomes was 20-of-23 for 309 yards, with six touchdowns, no interceptions, and a rating of 158.3.

What Went Right: Following a 59-yard punt by Jordan Berry that bounced out of bounds at the 1-yard line, the Steelers shaved two points off their deficit when Artie Burns and Morgan Burnett combined to tackle Kareem Hunt in the end zone on a second-and-10 from the 1-yard line. That made it 42-30 with 12:02 left in the fourth quarter.

What Went Right: The Steelers defense came up with its first takeaway of the game when Cam Heyward forced a fumble after a short sideline completion to Chris Conley that was recovered by Anthony Chickillo at the Pittsburgh 34-yard line with 5:03 remaining in the game.

What Went Right: A nine-play, 66-yard drive capped by a 3-yard sprint to the pylon on fourth down by Ben Roethlisberger brought the Steelers into range, 42-37, with 1:59 remaining in the fourth quarter. Jesse James caught a 46-yard pass to provide the big gain on the drive. The Steelers also had all three of their timeouts.

What Went Wrong: It ended without the Steelers getting another chance to get their offense on the field, because the team went for it on special teams. Attempting to block a punt with fewer than 15 seconds left, Tyler Matakevich didn’t get there and instead roughed Dustin Colquitt, which gave the Chiefs an automatic first down and allowed them to kill the final five seconds.

FINAL SCORE: CHIEFS 42, STEELERS 37

WHAT SHOULD THE PITTSBURGH STEELERS DO NOW?

 The Pittsburgh Steelers have now tied with the Cleveland Browns and loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. There doesn’t seem like there is a need to hit the panic button, but nobody saw a 0-1-1 record to begin the season.

The biggest issue for Steelers is that they’ve been inconsistent on the offensive and defensive side of the ball. Against the Browns, the Steelers defense made plays. The Steelers created 6 turnovers against the Browns, but none against the Chiefs. The Steelers allowed 327 yards against the Browns, but they allowed 449 yards against the Chiefs. While a 122 yard difference doesn’t seem significant, the game with the Browns went into overtime. The Steelers pressured the Browns QB Tyrod Taylor, while Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes was rarely hurried while in the pocket.

The only constant on the Steelers is running back James Conner. He’s shown that he can run and catch efficiently in the Steelers offense. In the two games played, Conner has combined for three touchdowns and 257 all-purpose yards. Conner has started the season as if he was supposed to be the number one running back on the depth chart. Running back Le’Veon Bell’s absence is troubling, but Conner has substituted well.

The Steelers go off to Tampa Bay to play the Buccaneers Monday. The Buccaneers offense has been one of the best in the league, so it is imperative for the Steelers defense to get on the right page. Steelers defenders missed several tackles and assignments during the game against the Chiefs. The Steelers have had issues tackling for years now, so it’s worrisome to see them still struggle to make tackles. The absence of linebacker Ryan Shazier has been felt since the day of his injury. The Steelers seem to not have a captain on the defensive side of the ball. Linebacker TJ Watt has arguably been the Steelers best defensive player to begin the season, so he may need to step up in order to rejuvenate the defense.

Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has been the leader on the offensive side of the ball for more than a decade. The only issue on the offensive side of the ball is that there aren’t enough footballs to catch. Wide receivers Antonio Brown, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Justin Hunter, and rookie James Washington are spectacular talents who demand targets. Running backs Le’Veon Bell and James Conner are fantastic receivers in their own right. The Steelers offense is one of the most talented in the league, but an offense can’t always win you games. The Steelers needed the offense to win in overtime against the Browns, and they needed the defense to make a stop against the Chiefs.

The Steelers have a lot to think about before their matchup with Buccaneers Monday. Le’Veon Bell reporting to the team could change the complexity of the offense, so it’ll be interesting to see what happens with his situation before next Monday. Even with Le’Veon Bell, the Steelers defense will still need to be effective in order to win football games.

CHIEFS HOLD OFF STEELERS 42-37

Patrick Mahomes tied a franchise record with six touchdown passes and the Kansas City Chiefs put on an impressive offensive display in a 42-37 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday.

The 22-year-old Mahomes finished 23 of 28 for 326 yards in his third career start as the Chiefs (2-0) won in Pittsburgh for the first time since 1986. Mahomes has 10 touchdown passes through two weeks, the most ever by a quarterback through two games in NFL history.

James Conner #30 of the Pittsburgh Steelers makes a one handed catch as Terrance Smith #48 of the Kansas City Chiefs defends in the first half during the game at Heinz Field on September 16, 2018 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images)

Trevor Kelce caught seven passes for 109 yards and two scores. Tyreek Hill, Chris Conley, Kareem Hunt and Demarcus Robinson also hauled in touchdown passes as the Chiefs recovered in the second half after blowing an early 21-pont lead.

Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger shook off an achy right elbow that limited him in practice during the week, completing 39 of 60 passes for 452 yards and three touchdowns. The 36-year-old also leapt into the end zone for a 3-yard score with 1:59 to go that got the Steelers (0-1-1) within five.

Rather than attempt an onside kick, Pittsburgh sent it deep. Two runs by Hunt gave Kansas City a big first down and Steelers linebacker Tyler Matakevich was flagged for roughing the punter as the Chiefs ended a six-game losing streak in Pittsburgh.

It might be the first of several turnarounds by the Chiefs, who made the surprising decision trade away veteran Alex Smith in the offseason and place the franchise in the hands of untested but strong-armed Mahomes.

So far, so very, very good.

A week after throwing for four scores in a victory over the Chargers, Mahomes picked up right where he left off. He needed just 13 minutes to toss three touchdowns as the Chiefs built a quick 21-0 lead, the last one a flip in the flat to Hunt in which the running back walked through a tackle by rookie safety Terrell Edmunds and into the end zone.

The Steelers received the break they needed to get back into the game when a Roethlisberger fumble that resulted in a Kansas City touchdown was waved off due to a defensive penalty. Pittsburgh reeled off touchdowns on its next three possessions to pull even at the break.

The Steelers stalled a bit in the second half. Mahomes did not.

A nifty toe-tap by Robinson in the back of the end zone put Kansas City up 35-28 with 3:15 left in the third quarter and Kansas City’s next possession ended with Mahomes getting the ball to Hill, who darted 29 yards to the end zone.

STATS AND MORE STATS

The six touchdown passes by Mahomes tied the most ever allowed by the Steelers in franchise history. Buffalo Bills Hall of Famer Jim Kelly threw six against Pittsburgh in 1991. … Pittsburgh tight end Jesse James set a career-high with 138 yards receiving. … Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown caught nine passes for 67 yards, becoming the fastest player in NFL history to cross the 750-career reception total (117 games). … Roethlisberger moved past John Elway and into seventh for career passing yards. … The Chiefs scored six touchdowns and had just 27:49 time of possession. Their longest scoring drive lasted just 3:57. … Mahomes’ six scores tied Len Dawson’s franchise mark set in 1964 against Denver when the Chiefs played in the American Football League.

INJURIES

CHIEFS: Get well Eric Berry. The veteran safety remains out with a sore heel and Kansas City’s defensive backfield hasn’t exactly stepped up in his absence. The Chiefs have allowed 870 yards in the air through two games. Part of the blame – if that’s the word – can be placed on opponents playing catch-up after getting buried early by Mahomes and company.

STEELERS: Pittsburgh’s secondary badly missed cornerback Joe Haden, who sat out with a strained right hamstring. There appeared to be communication issues all over the place early on, particularly when it came to finding a way to guard Kelce.

UP NEXT

CHIEFS: Welcome San Francisco to Arrowhead Stadium in their 2018 home opener next Sunday.

STEELERS: Head to Tampa Bay for a Monday night meeting with the Buccaneers on Sept. 24.