The Pittsburgh Steelers continued their losing streak, falling to 10-6 on the season after losing to the Kansas City Chiefs 29-10 in Week 17.
The Steelers divisional race tightens up a bit more, with the Ravens yet to play and the Steelers giving them more leeway to take the divisional title during Week 18.
The Steelers were never really able to get things going early, with one offensive yard in the first eleven minutes of gametime.
The overarching theme offensively was Russell Wilson’s inability to make the correct reads, as he threw an interception in the red zone early on. The Steelers had been pushed back following a touchdown run by Jaylen Warren that had been called back due to holding, but Wilson threw it right to Chiefs defensive back Justin Reid for the turnover.
The Steelers would not score until Wilson himself brought it into the endzone with just over ten minutes to go in the first half, but the offense would remain mostly stagnant the rest of the game. Running back Jaylen Warren was able to create space and rush for his season high, but the Steelers passing game couldn’t capitalize in key moments.
Turnovers were the key to the Chiefs winning, as the Wilson interception and a fumble by Pat Freiermuth on fourth and long would both result in scoring drives for Kansas City.
The Steelers would score again on a Boswell kick that got help from the referee crew, making it a 36 yarder. Those would be the only points the Steelers would score as they were unable to capitalize on any momentum as a team.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Steelers were tackling well but left Chiefs players in open space quite often. Travis Kelce scored a touchdown with 12 minutes to go in the game which put the game on ice, and he was wide open doing so.
The Steelers allowed quarterback Patrick Mahomes to pass for over 300 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions, which was quite uncharacteristic for the defense. Although the defense is missing key pieces in the secondary, the expectation was better.
The Steelers will finish their season against the Cincinnati Bengals in a game with massive seeding implications for the playoffs, and will hope to stop their negative momentum as the playoffs approach.
