The Kansas City Chiefs dropped through Heinz Field with their minds set on taking a win from the six-time Super Bowl Champions, the Pittsburgh Steelers, and it was an accomplishment they made easily scoring 42 points.
The black n’ gold made an effort too but it wasn’t enough to outscore the opposition; putting only scoring 37 points on the board by the end of the 4th quarter.
Kansas City 42, Pittsburgh 37
Sept. 16, 2018
Post-Game Notes:
Head Coach Mike Tomlin
Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Kansas City Chiefs
Opening statement:
Disappointing performance. Just not good enough really in all three phases. Not enough detail. Not enough big play making or execution, winning those one on one downs, and we didn’t play penalty-free enough. I thought penalties were an issue early on for us offensively in terms of stopping us the first three or so possessions of the game because we got behind the chains because of penalties. And I thought penalties were a factor in us defensively in the second half in terms of minimizing our opportunity on possession downs and even losing some of those possessions downs because of penalties. We were not playing well enough to have that occur. Not good enough today. We compliment Kansas City. They had a good plan, they had good execution of that plan, they played well. We got a lot of work to do. It’s a good thing we got an additional day this week. We’ll take advantage of it, analyze this performance and get ready for our next one. Some bumps and bruises associated with play, but nothing significant from an injury standpoint to mention.
Re: Could you have done more with the secondary to get more help?
We just didn’t cover well enough. We didn’t rush well enough. It is always collective when they are making plays in the passing game. We didn’t get after them.
Why not onside kick with two minutes left?
I wanted to give ourselves a chance to stop them. We were holding all three timeouts. We didn’t do it effectively enough to create enough time for our offense to function.
Re: Ben Roethlisberger was off in the beginning of the game:
We were behind the chains. We were getting penalties. We got a block in the back, we got a holding. When that puts you at first-and-20 or second-and-20 that’s what the early portions of the game were about for us offensively.
Were you happy with the time management on your last scoring drive?
I’m happy with it. I wanted to maintain the three timeouts to give ourselves a chance to stop them. Ben is good in no huddle. They were trying to switch people. I thought we would minimize some of the stuff we seen from them, but it didn’t pan out because they got a first down when they got the ball back. So we didn’t allow it to develop into the ways in which we were hoping.
Was it the same thinking you were hoping with the punt?
Certainly. Nine and change left in the game. Less than a two-touchdown game. Wanted to give ourselves a chance.
What do you have to do to cleanup special teams and are you concerned about Chris Boswell?
We are not playing well in the kicking game. We missed a couple kicks here in recent weeks. We are not punting with varsity-like consistency, so we got some work ahead of us and we’ll get started here in preparation for our next performance.
What was the problem with the offense?
Again, like I mentioned we got behind the chains early in the game and that is what was stopping those drives. I think we had a first-and-20, I think we had a second-and-20. You’re going to end up punting when you’re in those circumstances and that’s what was stopping us in the early portions of the game and you just can’t afford to start slow, especially when they have a dangerous return man. We had a penalty. We are started slow, they got a big punt return. We didn’t work to minimize his impact on the game in the ways that we envisioned.
Was Ben Roethlisberger limited by his elbow?
Not to my knowledge, no. I didn’t think he had any physical limits.
Are these games going to be the norm now with all of the rule changes?
I’m not trying to paint with a broad brush. I don’t know what’s going on outside of the stadiums that we are in from that perspective. Really, I am just trying to put together a solid, consistent, winning performance with this group and that is where our focus needs to be.
Ben Roethlisberger and Antonio Brown have connected on 712 completions, surpassing the duo of Drew Brees and Marques Colston (706) for the fourth-most between a quarterback and wide receiver tandem in NFL history (Peyton Manning-Marvin Harrison: 953, Peyton Manning-Reggie Wayne: 779, Philip Rivers-Antonio Gates: 734).
WR JuJu Smith-Schuster
- Set a single-game career high with 13 catches, surpassing his previous mark of nine (Dec. 31, 2017 vs. Cleveland), for 121 yards and a touchdown to mark the fifth 100-receiving yard game of his NFL career.
Pittsburgh Steelers WRs, Antonio Brown and James Washington (Photo credit: Vince Butts, Urban Media Today 2018)
WR James Washington
- Caught a 14-yard touchdown pass from QB Ben Roethlisberger on the first reception of his NFL career.
RB James Conner
- Tallied 65 yards from scrimmage (17 rushing / 48 receiving) and scored his third career rushing touchdown and of 2018, and his first as a Steeler at Heinz Field, on a one-yard run.
TE Jesse James
- Produced a single-game career high and led all receivers with 138 receiving yards on five receptions and a touchdown. His 138 receiving yards mark the first 100-receiving yard game of his NFL career.
- Scored on a 26-yard touchdown reception from QB Ben Roethlisberger – his first touchdown catch of 2018, and the eighth of his NFL career.
(Source: Dominick Rinelli, PR for the Pittsburgh Steelers)
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