Chiefs-Steelers: Pittsburgh beats Kansas City, 17-7

The Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Kansas City Chiefs, 17-7, in the Chiefs’ second preseason game of 2019. The game started one hour late, at 7:30 p.m. Arrowhead Time, due to a weather delay.

The Steelers started the game with the ball.

Offense

• First drive: The Chiefs opened up the game with an empty set, with Patrick Mahomes finding tight end Travis Kelce for 5 yards. Mahomes scrambled 8 yards for a first down, but the Chiefs could not convert thereafter. Steve Nelson covered Tyreek Hill on a second-down pass to Tyreek Hill that led to an incompletion. The Chiefs punted at the 50.
• Second drive: Carlos Hyde started the drive with runs of 4 and 7 yards for a first down, then an incomplete pass to Hill. Mahomes did not like what he saw. On second down, Hyde gained 6 yards, then fumbled the ball away at the Pittsburgh 47 yard-line.
• Third drive: Chad Henne on for the third drive. Three-and-out, highlighted by a sack by Bud Dupree on third down. Wide receiver Demarcus Robinson caught a 6-yard pass on second down.
• Fourth drive: Henne took a delay-of-game on third-and-1 but made up for it with a beautiful 27-yard connection with tight end Deon Yelder. Henne and the Chiefs couldn’t get anything going with the new set of downs.
• Fifth drive: Rookie running back Darwin Thompson entered the game and immediately showcased his speed with runs of 14 and 11 yards. On third-and-12 at the Kansas City 49, wide receiver Marcus Kemp made a 27-yard catch across the middle, and he held onto the ball despite a big hit from Steelers safety Sean Davis. Henne and the Chiefs worked their way into the red zone, but six points looked grim when Henne was sacked by Dupree on first-and-10 at the Pittsburgh 12. Two plays later, on third-and-15, Henne fired a pass and found rookie wide receiver Mecole Hardman for a 17-yard touchdown, tying the game before the half.
• Sixth drive: On the drive’s first play, Henne fumbled the ball on a low snap from rookie offensive lineman Nick Allegretti. The Steelers recovered.
• Seventh drive: Starting at the Kansas City 49, Henne hit wide receiver Byron Pringle for 11 yards. Chiefs called a timeout, setting kicker Harrison Butker up for a 58-yard field goal, but it was wide right. No good.
• Eighth drive: Kyle Shurmur replaced Henne at quarterback to start the third quarter. Darrel Williams came in at running back. Pringle made a strong 10-yard catch on third-and-4 to extend the drive early. Kahlil McKenzie took a holding penalty on the drive that ended with a punt.
• Ninth drive: Three-and-out for the Chiefs, ending with wide receiver Cody Thompson not being able to hold onto the ball on a pass from Shurmur.
• 10th drive: Chase Litton entered the game for the Chiefs, but it led to a three-and-out.
• 11th drive: Litton and Thompson connected on two passes for a combined 35 yards, but the drive ended when Blake Bell fumbled after what would have been a 25-yard catch. Steelers ball.
• 12th drive: Litton had to exit the game when he was hit hard on what looked like could have been a late hit. Shurmur came in for two plays, but the Chiefs ran out of time.

Defense

• First drive: No Ben Roethlisberger on Saturday. Mason Rudolph with the start. Frank Clark was on the field for the Chiefs to start the game. The Chiefs forced a three-and-out, and cornerback Charvarius Ward showed good coverage on wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster on third down for the early punt.
• Second drive: Juan Thornhill replaced Tyrann Mathieu to begin the drive. The Steelers were able to get one first down on passes to Vance McDonald and James Conner. Then the Chiefs pushed it to third down when Rudolph was sacked by Alex Okafor.
• Third drive: On the play after the Hyde fumble, cornerback Herb Miller forced Donte Moncrief to fumble the ball away on a strip. Linebacker Damien Wilson recovered.
• Fourth drive: The Steelers gained a first down thanks to two good runs by James Conner, but a false start derailed the drive. Miller had a nice pass breakup and Ben Niemann had a near-interception. The Chiefs forced the Steelers to punt.
• Fifth drive: The big play was Rudolph to wide receiver James Washington across the middle between several Chiefs, including Juan Thornhill and Armani Watts, in coverage. Niemann tackled Benny Snell for a loss. Faced with third-and-11, Rudolph connected with tight end Xavier Grimble for 13 yards and the first down. Running back Jaylen Samuels combined for 22 yards on the drive, capped off by a 14-yard touchdown—a 14-play, 89-yard drive for the Steelers to take the lead.
• Sixth drive: Josh Dobbs entered the game at quarterback for the Steelers with 1:11 to go in the half, and his first play went for a big gain—Dobbs to Washington (guarded by Miller) across the middle for 40 yards. The Steelers had a new set of downs at the Chiefs’ 43, but the defense forced a punt thanks to three straight incompletions on second, third and fourth down.
• Seventh drive: Dobbs hit Eli Rogers for 25 yards, and the referees called Daniel Sorensen for an unnecessary roughness penalty. Ward intercepted Dobbs in the end zone on the next play, returning the ball to the Kansas City 49.
• Eighth drive: Three-and-out for Pittsburgh to begin the second half.
• Ninth drive: The Steelers, facing the Chiefs reserves, began their drive at the 40 and worked their way down the field in eight plays, highlighted by a 13-yard gain by tight end Kevin Rader. The Steelers had the ball to begin the fourth quarter. Snell beat D’Montre Wade on a 24-yard touchdown catch from Dobbs, and the play was (by some miracle for Wade) called offensive pass interference. The Steelers settled for a 46-yard field goal.
• 10th drive: Devlin Hodges entered the game at quarterback for the Steelers. Shortly after the Steelers gained 19 yards on a reverse by wide receiver Diontae Spencer, Hodges threw a 24-yard touchdown to Diontae Johnson with Miller in coverage. The ball looked like it hit the ground on the replay, but the play was ruled a touchdown, anyway.
• 11th drive: Three-and-out for Pittsburgh. Punt.

Special teams

• Wide receiver Mecole Hardman took the first punt, returning the ball for 16 yards. Hardman was on the field for the second punt return, but the Steelers kicked it out of bounds. Hardman lost 16 yards on his third punt return.
• Long snapper James Winchester registered the tackle (!) on the Steelers’ first punt return.
• Running back Tremon Smith took the Chiefs’ first kick return 17 yards to their 19-yard line.
• Kicker Harrison Butker missed a 58-yard field goal wide right to end the first half.
• Byron Pringle had the initial kick return of the second half. Darwin Thompson and Cody Thompson each had a kick return in the second half, and Rashard Davis took a punt return.

The quarterbacks

• Patrick Mahomes: 2/5, 11 yards, 47.9 passer rating | 1 rush for 8 yards
• Chad Henne: 7/14, 96 yards, 1 touchdown, 1 fumble lost, 96.1 passer rating | 2 rushes for 3 yards
• Kyle Shurmur: 4/9, 29 yards, 52.5 passer rating | 1 rush for 2 yards
• Chase Litton: 9/15, 87 yards, 76.2 passer rating | 1 rush for 7 yards

Injury updates

• Before the game, Andy Reid confirmed that wide receivers Gehrig Dieter and Davon Grayson, defensive back Michael Hunter and H-back John Lovett would not participate.
• Safety Tyrann Mathieu left the game in the first quarter with a shoulder injury, but his injury is not considered serious, per Nate Taylor of The Athletic.
• Tight end Deon Yelder left the game in the second quarter with an ankle injury.
• Wide receiver Marcus Kemp was carted off the field with a knee injury, as reported by old friend BJ Kissel on KCTV5. More information here.
• Defensive lineman Breeland Speaks hurt his knee in the third quarter, and quarterback Chase Litton left the game late in the fourth.

Game Stats

Preseason Schedule

Regular Season Schedule