2016 Recall: Steelers take out their frustration against the Chiefs
A week after suffering their worst loss during Mike Tomlin’s nearly ten years as the Steelers head coach, the team rebounded in a big way in a game contested in primetime.
Facing the Kansas City Chiefs on NBC’s Sunday Night Football, this game was over before it started. The Steelers were obviously out to prove that the previous week’s game, jumping out to an early 22-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.
If you want to know how much of a change this was from the previous week, you need not only look at the score. The Steelers converted a 2-point conversion following their first touchdown, which included another deep-ball connection between Ben Roethlisberger and Sammie Coates (continuing another week, four weeks in a row to exact, where the duo engaged in a 40-plus yard play).
Everyone was in on the action: Darrius Heyward-Bey had the first score, while Antonio Brown, Jesse James and Markus Wheaton (who had a miserable game a week earlier) all caught touchdown passes.
Le’Veon Bell returned as well, adding 144 yards on the ground and 34 more in the air (on 5 receptions).
The Chiefs weren’t as lucky. If you want to know how bad it got for them, here’s what you need to know: Jarvis Jones had an interception which was nearly returned for a touchdown.
Their kicker, Cairo Santos, also missed a field goal with four seconds remaining before the half, failing to put the Chiefs first points on the board.
Final score: Steelers 43, Chiefs 14.
Play of the Game
About halfway through the first quarter, the score was still knotted at 0-0. Pittsburgh faced a third-and-nine from their own 31-yard line, as Ben went under center, and made the play that would start the Steelers early scoring explosion, finding Darrius Heyward-Bey wide open for a touchdown.
