For almost two decades, the New England Patriots were the bully in the AFC. They routinely stood in the way of the Pittsburgh Steelers making it to the Super Bowl. However, once their dynasty ended, it didn’t take long for another team to fill that void. The Kansas City Chiefs have been the cream of the crop in the AFC more recently. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes has been a huge reason for their success. According to Chiefs owner Clark Hunt, it was actually a game against the Steelers that helped his team realize how special Mahomes is.
“The following week, we went to Pittsburgh, a place that we had had a lot of difficulty getting a victory,” Hunt said Wednesday on FS1’s First Things First. “And that game was effectively over by halftime. I think he and [Travis] Kelce connected for three or so touchdowns. We couldn’t believe it. It was so special.”
The game Clark refers to came in Week 2 of the 2018 season. That was Mahomes’ first start against the Steelers, and it didn’t end well for Pittsburgh. The Chiefs jumped out to a 21-0 lead in the first quarter. It wasn’t quite as lopsided as Hunt remembers it being, with the Steelers coming back to make it a tie game at 21-21 at halftime. However, they couldn’t hold the Chiefs off for long.
Kansas City won that game 42-37, and Mahomes put on a show. He completed 23 of his 28 passes for 326 yards, six touchdowns, and zero interceptions. It’s easy to see why Hunt came away impressed.
That game represented a shifting of the tides for games between the Chiefs and Steelers. Like Hunt said, the Chiefs struggled against the Steelers before Mahomes came along, especially in Pittsburgh. Pre-Mahomes, the last time they won in Pittsburgh was 1986.
Since Mahomes joined the Chiefs, things have changed. The Steelers have played them four times, including one playoff game and one game in Pittsburgh, and they’ve lost every game. Besides their first meeting, none of them has been particularly close. The Steelers have continued to get blown out by the Chiefs.
The Steelers aren’t scheduled to face the Chiefs this year, but perhaps the two teams will meet in the playoffs. Kansas City hasn’t looked as dominant so far this season, but as long as they have Mahomes, they’ll be in the Super Bowl conversation. That means they’ll be in the Steelers’ way. We’ll see if they can eventually slay that dragon.
