Welcome to game day! The Kansas City Chiefs are hosting the Pittsburgh Steelers at Arrowhead Stadium for their first home playoff game in 13 years. Welcome to the AFC Divisional round of the playoffs where the winner earns the right to go to New England to face the Patriots. Find the rest of the updated NFL playoff schedule here. Info on the TV schedule and live stream options are below.
The game will kick off at 7:20 p.m. (Arrowhead Time) thanks to the ice storm, which doesn’t look too bad outside my window right now. We’ll see how things shake out the rest of the day but I’m hopeful weather won’t be a major issue for those going to the stadium or for those playing in it. The Chiefs have had the field covered, re-sodded part of it last week and have a heating system under the field.
The Chiefs are the slight favorites in this game. I am picking them to win but I don’t think anyone can feel confident in this game. These are two closely matched teams. You might look at the score of their previous meeting this year - 43-14 blowing in Week 4 - and say the Steelers are the better team. But that was a weird game. The Chiefs turned it over twice early and then it was over. Not much to take out of that game.
The Chiefs will need to stop the triplets: Ben Roethlisberger, Le’Veon Bell and Antonio Brown. The Chiefs run defense has been suspect so I think Bell will get his yards. He will be a problem. I hope that the Chiefs can stop AB from getting those big chunk plays. Make the Steelers go 80 yards methodically instead of in chunk plays.
A talking point in this game will be the home / road splits for Pittsburgh. It’s real.
Big Ben at home this yr: 71%, 320 YPG, 20 TD, 5 INT, 102.8 QB RTG
— Brandon Kiley (@BKSportsTalk) January 1, 2017
Big Ben on the road: 59%, 238 YPG, 9 TD, 8 INT, 78.4 QB RTG
Let’s do this...
Nuts and bolts
Location: Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri
Game time: Sunday, January 15, 7:20 p.m. (Arrowhead Time)
TV channel: NBC (Do I get the game?)
Online streaming: NBC
Radio: 101.1 The Fox (Mitch Holthus and Len Dawson) | Full listings
Spanish radio: KCZZ 1480 AM (Tico Sports)
Matchup history: Steelers lead 21-10
Odds: Chiefs are 1.5-point favorites
Prediction: Chiefs win 23-19 (more picks here)
Announcers: Al Michaels, Cris Collinsworth, Michele Tafoya and Heather Cox (sideline)
Enemy blog: Behind The Steel Curtain
Twitter: @ArrowheadPride
Facebook: Please like us!
Chiefs 2016 schedule (12-4)
Week 1: Chargers 27 Chiefs 33
Week 2: Chiefs 12 Texans 19
Week 3 Jets 3 Chiefs 24
Week 4 Chiefs 14 Steelers 43
Week 5: Bye
Week 6 Chiefs 26 Raiders 10
Week 7 Saints 21 Chiefs 27
Week 8 Chiefs 30 Colts 14
Week 9 Jaguars 14 Chiefs 19
Week 10 Chiefs 20 Panthers 17
Week 11 Bucs 20 Chiefs 17
Week 12 Chiefs 30 Broncos 27
Week 13 Chiefs 29 Falcons 28
Week 14 Raiders 13 Chiefs 21
Week 15 Titans 19 Chiefs 17
Week 16 Broncos 10 Chiefs 33
Week 17 Chiefs 37 Chargers 27