Coming off of last week’s disappointing home loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Pittsburgh Steelers had two possible reactions. Their reaction would determine the course of the rest of the season. They could either let their early shortcomings define the season, or bounce back. The answer on Sunday was resounding, as the Steelers pulled off their biggest win of the year. Pittsburgh knocked off the lone unbeaten team in the NFL, the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead by a score of 19-13. The defense was superb, answering the call of their toughest match up this season while the offense succeeded with a more balanced attack.
Week Six Pittsburgh Steelers Takeaways
The story of week six for the Steelers was their defensive dominance against one of the top offenses in the NFL. Alex Smith came into the game with 11 touchdowns and no interceptions. However, the Chiefs quarterback struggled against the Steelers defense, completing just 19 of 34 passes for 246 yards.
In a similar sense, Kareem Hunt has dominated the ground game for Kansas City this season. Hunt entered week six with 609 yards; a sensational start for a rookie running back. Hunt, however, was stifled by the Steelers defense, gaining only 21 yards on nine carries.
Defense Shows Solid Effort
The defense was good beyond just keeping the Chiefs stars at bay. The defense completely shut down Kansas City’s running game. The Chiefs only rushed for a total of 28 yards, forcing them to turn to the passing game. This strategy from the Steelers defense worked tremendously. Forcing the Chiefs to throw the ball by taking away the run helped Pittsburgh stop the offensive machine. Moving forward, the Steelers should continue to take away options from teams, playing to their strengths. The strong defensive effort helped the offense play the possession game and succeed.
Balance Beats Chiefs
Balance was the key term for the Steelers offense against the Chiefs. Coming off a game where Ben Roethlisberger threw the ball 55 times, the goal was clearly to re-establish a balanced attack. The key to this balanced attack was a strong running game with short controlled passes. Le’Veon Bell, after his coming out party two weeks ago, was quiet last week. The Steelers offense got Bell more involved this week. Bell finished with 179 yards on 32 carries and a touchdown. The Steelers running game was the key to the passing game Sunday.
Roethlisberger’s Better Day
Bell’s success also helped Roethlisberger get back on track this week. Although not spectacular by any meaning of the word, Roethlisberger played well on Sunday. Roethlisberger went 17 for 25 and 252 yards with a touchdown and an interception. However, the interception was not Roethlisberger’s fault, as Antonio Brown stopped prematurely.
Brown made it up to Roethlisberger later though, stopping in mid air to catch a deflected pass and take it to the end zone. The passing game is extremely effective, but with Roethlisberger’s age, it needs to be the secondary option.
Looking Ahead
Next week, the Steelers take on the Cincinnati Bengals at home. Pittsburgh looks to advance to 3-0 in the AFC North and maintain their division lead. Cincinnati is a sub par team, one the Steelers of today will most likely play down to. For success next week, Pittsburgh needs to run the ball effectively, and let Roethlisberger make throws he is able to.
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