Dec 21, 2014 4 min read

PITTSBURGH – Who would have thought that in a game in which the Steelers clinched their first playoff berth in three seasons, it would be the defense carrying the day?

That was certainly the case Sunday in Pittsburgh’s 20-12 win over Kansas City at Heinz Field.

The offense was solid against a Kansas City team that entered the game ranked in the top 10 in the league in yards and points against.

But it was the defense that keyed this victory and got the Steelers into a situation where they can clinch the AFC North title next week with a win over Cincinnati.

“We put together one of our more complete games,” said linebacker James Harrison, who was a big part of that effort, recording 7 tackles, 1 1/2 sacks and a pair of tackles for a loss.

“The big thing was that we really stopped them in the red zone. We were able to stop them from getting (touchdowns). We were able to hold them to 3s or we got the one turnover down there. The big thing was our red zone defense was superb.”

Kansas City entered the game with the NFL’s second-rated red zone offense, having scored touchdowns on drives inside the opposing 20 nearly 68 percent of the time.

Against the Steelers, however, the Chiefs went 0-for-4, kicking three field goals and getting stopped on fourth-and-short at the end of the first half.

The Steelers also recorded a season-high six sacks while holding Kansas City’s All-Pro running back Jamaal Charles to 29 yards on nine carries.

“That’s a good day,” said linebacker Jason Worilds, who had two sacks. “That’s kind of the vision that we had initially. It’s something that we strived for. We’ve done exactly what we’ve said we would do, which is get better.”

The numbers don’t necessarily bear that out, but the results do. Over the past three games, after allowing 35 points in a loss to New Orleans, the Steelers have given up 21, 20 and now 12 points.

Given what the offense is capable of producing, those are winning numbers.

Now the Steelers find themselves a playoff team again. And given what they’ve done in winning their last three games, they’re as dangerous as any team in the league in a winner-take-all situation.

The best thing, however, is that this team wants more.

“We don’t want to be complacent with three wins in a row,” said defensive end Cam Heyward. “We want to get greedy. We want this division. We want to go into the playoffs not having lost a game in a while.”

Or, as linebacker Vince Williams said, “I really want to get a T-shirt and a hat next week. That’s what I’m focused on. I want to go ahead and take care of the North. I don’t want to be wobbling on in there. I want to kick the door down.”

Why not?

Given their recent play and that of the other teams in the AFC, why shouldn’t the Steelers feel confident?

Perhaps many fans haven’t bought into the Steelers being a legitimate AFC contender, but they don’t feel that way. This is a team that believes it is starting to peak at the right time.

And you know what? With wins in seven of their last nine games, they might be right.

“Even when we were .500, we still believed that the season wasn’t over,” said safety Will Allen, referring to the 3-3 start. “Everybody stayed focused on the task ahead of us. Now we have a chance to win the division and have a home game in the playoffs.

“That’s what we want, a home playoff game. We want to keep moving in the playoffs. This is just a start for us. It’s not the end game. We’re thankful for the work we’ve put in and what we’ve done so far, but it’s not enough. We want more.”

F. Dale Lolley can be reached at dlolley@observer-reporter.com.