A few weeks ago, it wasn’t hard to find someone picking the Pittsburgh Steelers to upset the Kansas City Chiefs on Christmas. However, after the last few weeks, it seems less likely that’s going to happen. The Steelers have struggled in their last two games while the Chiefs are just hitting their stride. Despite all of that, former NFL tight end Rob Gronkowski is picking the Steelers to win this game on one condition.
“It’s in Pittsburgh,” Gronkowski said Tuesday on Up and Adams with Kay Adams. “They’re gonna be rowdy. They’re gonna be ready to go, those fans. I’m going with, if George Pickens is healthy and he’s playing, the Pittsburgh Steelers are gonna win. If he doesn’t play, the Kansas City Chiefs will win.”
That’s a fair condition from Gronkowski. Pickens has been hurt for the past three game, and the Steelers’ offense has not been the same without him. Even when they do things right, they can’t into enough of a rhythm to play winning football. Pickens is a dynamic playmaker whom the Steelers need.
“When he’s out, the Steelers, they don’t have a deep threat that anyone respects,” Gronkowski said. “That leads to struggles in the run game for the Steelers. Then they can’t stay ahead of the chains, and then they get into too many third-and-long situations. It’s been hurting the Steelers big time that he’s been out. If he’s back, I’d put the Pittsburgh Steelers at the top of their division.”
Luckily, it sounds like Pickens should be good to go tomorrw. His hamstring injury seems to be healed, so he’ll be available for the Steelers. That should give the Steelers’ offense a much-needed boost.
However, Pickens’ presence still might not give the Steelers what they need to beat the Chiefs. It certainly improves their chances, but their offense hasn’t been their only issue over this stretch.
The Steelers’ defense has looked awful over the last two weeks. They’ve missed a startling number of tackles, and their communication has been subpar at best. For a unit that’s supposed to be among the NFL’s best, it has made too many simple mistakes recently.
Against Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs, those issues are like a death sentence. While the Chiefs’ offense hasn’t been perfect, Mahomes is still the best player in the NFL. Don’t let his stats fool you. He’s still been absolutely lethal, and he’ll exploit any weaknesses the Steelers have.
We’ll see if Pickens can help guide the Steelers’ sleigh to victory. Gronkowski seems to have faith he will. With several other players getting healthy as well, the Steelers’ chances might be better than some people think. They’ve been underdogs for much of this season, and that hasn’t stopped them so far.
