Tyreek Hill, the most purely elusive player in football and Kansas City’s two-time first-team All-Pro receiver, was a non-factor the first time the Steelers faced the Chiefs. That didn’t stop Patrick Mahomes from putting up 258 passing yards, three touchdowns and 36 points.
Hill was coming off a stint on the COVID-19 list in Week 16, and he’s still not fully healthy, dealing with a heel injury that limited his practice time this week. Still, the Steelers are preparing as if the 5-foot-10, 185-pound speedster will be flying around like his usual self Sunday night at Arrowhead Stadium. And their last line of defense, as usual, will be free safety Minkah Fitzpatrick.
“Obviously, when you go against an explosive offense, you want to be able to stay up top and limit those explosive plays,” said Steelers cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon. “It's big having a guy like Minkah that's not limited in his game to be over the top and make plays if they want to challenge him. It adds a lot of depth to our defense."
Over the last three weeks, Hill has just nine receptions for 61 yards. But he lit up the Chargers for 148 yards and a touchdown on 12 catches in Week 15.
As often as Fitzpatrick could find himself helping out on Hill, there likely will be moments where he’s one-on-one with “Cheetah” in the open field. Fitzpatrick is in the midst of his best season as a tackler, with just 13 misses on 124 stops, a career-low 9.5% missed tackle percentage, per Pro Football Reference. His pass breakup last week on Hollywood Brown in Baltimore may have saved the Steelers’ season, and he’ll surely need more of those plays Sunday night in Kansas City.
Keys to victory
To win, the Chiefs must ...
Protect Patrick. T.J. Watt did little in the first game, but he’s healthier now and will be coming after Mahomes.
Bombard Ben. Roethlisberger has the lowest QB rating (47) of any QB in the playoffs when blitzed, per ESPN.
Shun ‘splash.’ If they can just avoid fluky bounces and big plays in all three phases, they should have enough talent to move on.
To win, the Steelers must …
Make adjustments. Andy Reid is 12-4 since 2018 when facing a team for the second time in a season, so coaching will be key.
Go get it. Mahomes has not thrown a pick in six of eight postseason games, so finding a way to turn him over is critical.
Energize. From the start this time for an offense that’s riding Roethlisberger’s wave but still finished 31st in first-quarter points.
Local ties
• Melvin Ingram, who spent all of six games with the Steelers this season before being shipped to Kansas City for a sixth-round pick at the trade deadline.
• Dorian O’Daniel, a fourth-year linebacker out of Clemson who was born and raised in Canonsburg until moving to Maryland in seventh grade.
• Matt House, linebackers coach who was Pitt’s defensive coordinator in 2013 and 2014 under Paul Chryst but will become Brian Kelly’s defensive coordinator at LSU when this season ends.
• Greg Lewis, running backs coach who was Pitt wide receivers coach in 2014 under Chryst.
Brian Batko: bbatko@post-gazette.com and Twitter @BrianBatko.
First Published: January 16, 2022, 3:00 p.m.
