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Who I like: Steelers at Chiefs

4 min read
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In case you hadn’t heard, Ben Roethlisberger threw five interceptions on 55 pass attempts last week.

That’s a lot. In fact, it’s the most of his career.

By comparison, Kansas City’s Alex Smith has yet to throw an interception on 155 pass attempts this season for the Chiefs, who have had just one turnover.

That came on their first offensive play of the season on a fumble by rookie running back Kareem Hunt.

Since then, the Chiefs have run 311 offensive plays without turning the ball over. They have fumbled six more times in that span but have recovered all six.

That is some good fortune.

It’s a big reason why the Chiefs lead the league in scoring and are second in total offense.

Kansas City has players in Hunt, tight end Travis Kelce and receiver Tyreek Hill that can beat a defense on all three levels. But the key this season has been the running of Hunt.

He leads the NFL in rushing with 609 yards rushing and has 775 yards from scrimmage, an average of 155 per game.

That’s slightly under what Le’Veon Bell averaged last season for the Steelers, when he averaged 157.8 yards per game, the third-best in NFL history over the course of a season.

That’s how special Hunt has been.

But Bell has been special against the Chiefs. In his past three meetings with Kansas City, he has 481 yards from scrimmage, including a team playoff-record 170 rushing in an 18-16 win over Kansas City in the playoffs last season.

He also rushed for 144 yards against them in a 43-14 win in Pittsburgh in the regular season.

It seems simple to say, but the team that does a better job getting their running back going in this game will likely win it.

After his five-interception game last week, expect Roethlisberger to bounce back with a good game. He’s too competitive for that not to happen.

And the Steelers also will unleash James Harrison in this game, as well. He’s caused Kansas City left tackle Eric Fisher nightmares over the years.

Pittsburgh will get right tackle Marcus Gilbert back, as well, after going 1-2 without him this season. The Steelers are just 2-4 the past two seasons when Gilbert doesn’t play.

While Gilbert will be back, it appears that guard Marcus Gilbert will miss this one with a back injury. B.J. Finney would start in his place.

The Steelers had some of their better rushing efforts in 2016 when Finney started.

Kansas City, meanwhile, does have some injury issues.

Tight end Travis Kelce is coming off a concussion last week but is expected to play. And speedy receiver Tyreek Hill showed up on the injury report with a hamstring issue, while sack specialist Justin Houston has been dealing with a calf injury.

All of that said, the Chiefs are playing very well right now. They should have plenty of confidence to spare.

Because of that, the Chiefs are 5-point favorites to win this game.

It wouldn’t surprise me if the Steelers put everything together and somehow won. They typically have played their best when backed into a corner, particularly when playing a good team.

The Chiefs also are due to turn the ball over, having gone 311 snaps without doing so.

But five weeks into the season, complete desperation might not have set in for the Steelers.

Expect the Steelers to play much better than they have in two of their past three games. But look for Kansas City to win this one, though the Steelers will cover.

Take Kansas City, 24-23

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