8:25pm
The House that Hines Built
TV: NBC
Radio: WDVE and other affiliates

The Steelers are coming off their worst defeat since 1989 and did not just get hammered on the scoreboard by the Eagles but also lost a number of players to injury. Now, they get to come back home to take on the Chiefs on Sunday Night Football. For as bad as the Steelers have been in Philadelphia, Kansas City has been similarly bad in Pittsburgh. The Steelers have won their last 5 home games against the Chiefs dating back to 1986. If there is any silver lining in losing to the Eagles, it was not a loss to a division or conference opponent. This game will almost certainly have playoff implications as the season stretches on as the Steelers had Chiefs have both been in the playoff hunt over the last 3 seasons. This game comes with some additional pomp and circumstance as Kevin Greene will be presented with his Hall of Fame ring at halftime (with pass rushing partner in crime Greg Lloyd doing the presenting). Greene’s wife will sing the National Anthem, accompanied by Styx (who will also perform Renegade, because of course).

What to Watch For

1. Return of the Running Backs

Both teams have survived up to this point without their starting running backs.When healthy, both are All-Pro Caliber backs. For the Steelers, Le’Veon Bell returns to the lineup after missing the first three games because of a suspension for missing drug tests. The only positive in Bell’s suspension being reduced from 4 games to 3 is that he did not “level up” in the NFL’s drug protocol, so if he commits another violation, his suspension would only be 4 games and not 8 or 10. In very limited action during the preseason, Bell looked as good as ever. While DeAngelo Williams was successful through the first two weeks, there are things that Bell can do that Williams simply can’t do. The Steelers will have both backs at their disposal and will likely use both. For Kansas City, Jamaal Charles returns to the lineup after losing most of last season and the first three weeks of this season to an ACL injury. The Steelers were familiar with Charcandrick West, who ran for 110 yards and a touchdown against them last year in reserve of Charles but West is out with an ankle injury. Spencer Ware has been the Chiefs primary back this season, rushing for 202 yards and a touchdown so far. Knile Davis is still on the Chiefs roster too, and after the success Darren Sproles had last week it wouldn’t be surprising to see Davis get offensive snaps. Like the Steelers working Bell back into the lineup, the Chiefs will likely split the workload between Ware and Charles.

2. Learn From the Past

Last week, the Steelers got shellacked by the Eagles who were coached by Doug Pederson. Pederson was essentially Andy Reid’s protege, coaching under Reid in Philadelphia then following him to Kansas City where he served as the offensive coordinator the last few seasons. Basically, Kansas City will be running the same Andy Reid offense as Philadelphia. Alex Smith isn’t going to push the ball down the field, but will work the short and intermediate routes, particularly to running backs and tight ends. Smith will take the short passes, which brings me to….

3. Tackle, dammit

The Steelers have not blitzed this season. They have brought more than 4 rushers on just 11% of defensive snaps. The defense has spent most of the first three games of the season sitting back in coverage and attempting to tackle the catch. Against Washington, this worked as Kirk Cousins missed throws and the Steelers did a good job swarming to the ball. Washington also lacked a speedy running back that could do damage out of the backfield. Cincinnati had success dumping the ball down to Gio Bernard (who scored a late touchdown off a check-down pass). Philadelphia had the combination of a tight end that could get behind the linebackers and elusive running backs. This made Carson Wentz’s job very easy last week. Kansas City has a similar distribution of talent with Travis Kelce at tight end and Charles and Ware in the backfield. The Steelers can’t afford to give the Chiefs any free yards after the catch and need to make Alex Smith beat them with his arm. Tackle, tackle, tackle.

4. Injuries

The Steelers South Side facility was like an episode of M*A*S*H this week. Nine different players were listed on the injury report and there were some questions as to whether or not the team would actually have 46 healthy bodies to put in uniform on Sunday Night. Despite not practicing until Friday, rookie DB Sean Davis will be dressed, though it looks like Jordan Dangerfield may get the start next to Mike Mitchell since Robert Golden is out with a hamstring injury. The Steelers lost both starting inside linebackers during the Eagles game, but Lawrence Timmons practiced in full all week and will play while Ryan Shazier will not. Left guard Ramon Foster will also be out after suffering a chest injury against the Eagles. BJ Finney, who replaced him against Philadelphia missed some practice this week with a finger injury but will play while Cody Wallace remains out. Eli Rogers will also be out with a turf toe injury so the Steelers may have to get a bit creative with their slot receiver situation and there has been some talk this week of using Le’Veon Bell in a receiving role.

5. Turnovers

The Chiefs defense leads the league with 8 interceptions this season and have generated 10 turnovers in the last two weeks. They are coming off a game where they intercepted Ryan Fitzpatrick 6 times. Former first round pick Marcus Peters has 4 interceptions on his own, which is twice as many as the entire Steelers team has. With Justin Houston on injured reserve and Tamba Hali nursing a knee injury, the Chiefs do not have the same dominant pass rush they have been known for in the past. They have compensated with an aggressive, ball-hawking secondary. The Chiefs offense has turned the ball over at least once in every game so far and Alex Smith has been sacked 9 times (the 3rd most of any quarterback in the league entering this week). The Steelers should have their opportunities to get after Smith, and the last time the Chiefs visited Pittsburgh James Harrison had a field day with Eric Fisher.