The Pittsburgh Steelers battle the Kansas City Chiefs this week in a game that will feature the NFL’s top passer, Ben Roethlisberger (4,415 yards, 29 TDs), and second-leading rusher, Le’Veon Bell (1,278 yards, 7 TDs). With this week’s game, Pittsburgh (9-5) has the chance to maintain their recent level of success. They have won three of their last four. The game will air Sunday at 1:00 p.m. ET on CBS.
In last week’s game, Pittsburgh notched a win over Falcons 27-20. William Gay led the defensive effort for Pittsburgh in the victory, registering eight tackles and one interception. Kansas City won last week, defeating Oakland 31-13. Alex Smith had a huge game passing the ball for the Chiefs, connecting on 18 of 30 pass attempts for 297 yards and two TDs.
The Chiefs are a three-point underdog against the Steelers and the Over/Under (O/U) for the matchup is 46 points. Heading into Week 16 of league action, the Steelers are 9-5 Straight Up (SU) and 7-7 Against The Spread (ATS). Over their last five games, the Steelers have records of 3-2 SU and 2-3 ATS. Judging from past Chiefs games this season, expect to see a heavy dose of the Steelers run game. The Chiefs currently rank 28th in the NFL with 132.6 rushing yards allowed per game. Keep an eye on Pittsburgh to turn it up a notch during the second quarter of home games, where they average a league-best 16.8 points. With the second-highest time of possession per game at 33:10, expect Pittsburgh to control the pigskin this week.
As for their opponent, the Chiefs have a record of 9-5 ATS and 8-6 SU. The Chiefs went 2-3 both SU and ATS over the last five games. The Chiefs are usually effective at running the ball, owning the fifth-best yards per carry average in the league at 4.6. The Kansas City pass defense has given teams problems during the past five games. During that time, opponents have gained an average of only 188.2 passing yards against this frightening unit. Pittsburgh needs to keep its intensity through the fourth quarter against the Chiefs, who average 7.3 points in the final 15 minutes of regulation. Pittsburgh will want to contain Kansas City’s special teams squad. The Chiefs average a league-leading 135.2 return yards per game.
Predictions: SU Winner – KC, ATS Winner – KC, O/U – Over
Notes
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Kansas City’s last 10 games.
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Pittsburgh’s last 8 games.
Kansas City is 6-3 SU in its last 9 games.
Pittsburgh is 6-2 SU in its last 8 games.
Kansas City is 3-6 SU in its last 9 games on the road.
Pittsburgh is 6-2 SU in its last 8 games at home.
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Kansas City’s last 5 games on the road.
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Pittsburgh’s last 5 games at home.
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Kansas City’s last 7 games when playing Pittsburgh.
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Pittsburgh’s last 7 games when playing Kansas City.
Kansas City is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games when playing Pittsburgh.
Pittsburgh is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games when playing Kansas City.
Kansas City is 5-9-1 ATS in its last 15 games when playing Pittsburgh.
Pittsburgh is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Kansas City.
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Kansas City’s last 6 games when playing on the road against Pittsburgh.
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Pittsburgh’s last 6 games when playing at home against Kansas City.
Kansas City is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Pittsburgh.
Pittsburgh is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Kansas City.
Kansas City is 6-1 SU when leading at the half this season. Pittsburgh is 7-1 SU when taking a lead into halftime.
Kansas City is 5-1 SU when leading at the start of the fourth quarter this season. Pittsburgh is 7-1 SU when carrying a lead into the fourth quarter.
Kansas City is 3-1 SU in games where it wins the turnover battle this season, and only 2-4 SU in games where it loses the turnover battle.
This season, Pittsburgh is only 1-3 SU in games where it loses the turnover battle.
The Pittsburgh pass defense is ranked 25th in the league, and will look to contain the 30th-ranked passing attack of Kansas City.
The Pittsburgh offensive ground attack is ranked 10th in the league, while the Kansas City rush defense is only ranked 28th. The Chiefs’ rushing game is ranked seventh, compared to the ninth-ranked run defense of the Steelers.
Kansas City has only given up 19.3 points per game on the road, which is ranked fifth in the league. Pittsburgh, however, has scored 35.0 points per game at home (ranked third overall).
Pittsburgh has allowed 24.2 points per contest this year, which is ranked only 21st in the league. Kansas City has scored 23.0 points per game this year and is ranked 14th overall.
