Every team is trying to dethrone the Kansas City Chiefs. Winners of the last two Super Bowls and the current top team in the AFC, the good news is they don’t look like the unstoppable force they have in other years. Their points are down, their games are closer, and they’ve had good fortune to come away with recent wins over the Carolina Panthers and Los Angeles Chargers. Could the Pittsburgh Steelers take them down?
That’s what the panel on FS1’s The Facility debated Wednesday. For LeSean McCoy and James Jones, Pittsburgh is the AFC team best equipped to bounce Patrick Mahomes and company.
Jones cited the Steelers’ pass rush as the X factor.
“You have [Alex] Highsmith and you have T.J. Watt,” he told the show. “Their strength is the Chiefs’ weakness. I think they can get after Patrick Mahomes and make it really, really hard on Patrick Mahomes.”
He cited Kansas City’s recurring issues at left tackle, struggling to find anyone to consistently protect Mahomes’ blindside. The team’s latest attempt was to sign veteran D.J. Humphries. But he struggled and injured his hamstring in the Chiefs’ Sunday night win over the Chargers, a rough debut on multiple levels.
If Humphries can’t start, the team will likely return to Wanya Morris. He started from Weeks 3-13 before being replaced by Humphries last weekend. The team began the season starting rookie Kingsley Suamataia but scrapped that plan three weeks into the year. It would be a matchup for Steelers EDGE rushers Alex Highsmith and Nick Herbig to exploit. Perhaps the team would make a greater effort to shift T.J. Watt over and take advantage of the matchup, too.
McCoy agreed with Jones and believes the Steelers’ extra firepower offensively puts them over the top.
“The Steelers have playmakers on both sides of the ball,” he said, noting QB Russell Wilson’s playmaking offensively.
Though the Chiefs’ scoring is muted, Mahomes is still capable of scoring on any drive. And when Kansas City needs it the most, he delivers. Pittsburgh is in better position to match points for points now than any recent previous season, averaging 28.4 points in Wilson’s seven starts.
Still, not everyone was convinced. Emmanuel Acho selected the Bills as the Chiefs’ potential Kryptonite.
“I think the Steelers is a great answer,” he said. “But as good as their defense is, Mahomes has seen great defenses.”
Josh Allen and the Bills’ offense are more potent than even the Steelers’ re-tooled group. Of course, Buffalo has also beaten Kansas City this year, handing the Chiefs their only loss in Week 11. QB Chase Daniel picked the Bills for that reason.
“You get this confidence level when you face them, it’s not like climbing Mt. Everest. We’ve done that,” Daniel said.
Pittsburgh will get the chance to do the same on Christmas Day in Week 17.
