KANSAS CITY, Mo. — If the Steelers season indeed proceeds the way many expected of it in August, the turnaround will have come here, where they staged their Midwest Octoberfest.
After losing two of their past three to one-touchdown underdogs, their identity as an offense and defense questioned, and them even at times wondering about themselves, they put it to rest Sunday. At least until they play again.
Nothing unexpected happened in their 19-13 victory that knocked the Kansas City Chiefs from the only unbeaten perch in the NFL. An efficient Ben Roethlisberger threw what would be the winning 51-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter to Antonio Brown, who caught eight throws for 155 yards. Le’Veon Bell ran 32 times for 179 yards and a touchdown. Their defense was stifling for most of the game and held the Chiefs to just 28 yards rushing, 21 from the NFL’s leading rusher, rookie Kareem Hunt.
And 39-year-old James Harrison came out from the shadows to body-slam the Kansas City Chiefs’ last-ditch effort to pull it out by sacking quarterback Alex Smith on third down.
What’s surprising with any of that? Nothing, unless anyone watched them through the first five games of the season as they did the Jekyll-and-Hyde act on their way to a 3-2 record.
Maybe by pulling a small upset of their own (they were 3½-point underdogs to the Chiefs) on the Ides of October and the way they did it will put them back on the track they were supposed to be on.
“I hope so,’’ Roethlisberger said. “There’s still a little bit of detail missing, whatever that is, but hopefully yes, this is a stepping-stone. We didn’t put up the points, but we came to a place like this against a defense like this and still did pretty good.”
The quarterback had been under heavy artillery fire from all over after he threw a career-high five interceptions in a loss last week at home to Jacksonville. He even wondered “maybe I don’t have it anymore” in the locker room after that one, although it seemed he said it sarcastically.
Against the Chiefs, he threw sharply and with authority, completing 17 of 25 passes for 252 yards. His lone interception and the only turnover of the game came because Brown did not complete a slant route. He guided them on a 93-yard drive and while it only produced a 20-yard field goal, it began at their 1 and could have ended poorly.
“I guess this old cowboy’s got a little left in him,’’ Roethlisberger said.
So do two younger Killer Bs, Bell and Brown.
Bell spoke out Monday after the Steelers’ 30-9 loss to Jacksonville in which he carried just 15 times for 47 yards. He said they did not run the ball enough.
Someone must have been listening — or at least watching video — because the Steelers came out of the locker room running, unlike their game at home a week earlier. Bell ran eight times for 64 yards on the Steelers’ 75-yard drive that ended with him powering up the middle for a 3-yard score on the first play of the second quarter. He had 99 yards on 17 carries in the first half.
Almost always leading the way was guard David DeCastro and center Maurkice Pouncey pulling on counters.
Bell’s 179 yards was preceded by a Steelers postseason record 170 here in their January victory over the Chiefs.
Did his words Monday find an audience that prompted Sunday’s game plan?
“What I said last week, I’m not sure if it translates to this week but today we got the W and that’s the biggest thing for us,’’ Bell said. “We came in expecting to run the ball, we stuck to the game plan and we got a W today.”
The score does not reflect how the Steelers dominated the Chiefs on offense and defense for most of the game. Kansas City managed just 6 yards in total offense and one first down in the first half to 232 yards and 16 first downs for the Steelers, who led, 12-3, at the time.
The Chiefs made a run at them in the fourth quarter but three big moments prevailed for the Steelers. The first came when they stopped Kansas City two plays from the Steelers 5 early in the final quarter, leaving them pointless at the 4.
The next came when, clinging to a 12-10 lead, Roethlisberger’s deep pass was deflected. That happened twice against Jacksonville and both were intercepted. This one went right to Brown at Kansas City’s 34 and he high-tailed it to a 51-yard touchdown.
And the last one was Harrison’s third-down sack of Smith for an 8-yard loss to the Steelers 48 with 58 seconds left. That virtually ended the drama.
It was Harrison who ate up Kansas City tackle Eric Fisher in the January playoff game, won in part when Fisher was called for a holding penalty on Harrison on a 2-point try in the Steelers’ 18-16 playoff win.
Sunday, Harrison ran over Fisher to dump Smith.
“When he was out there at the end, I was thinking he would either get a hold or a sack,’’ Roethlsiberger said. “And sure enough he got the sack. It made my heart warm.
“That’s what he does and who he is. He’s a dangerous football player.”
And maybe Sunday the Steelers revealed what they do and who they are. A dangerous football team?
Ed Bouchette: ebouchette@post-gazette.com.
First Published: October 16, 2017, 3:33 a.m.