The time has come to stop talking about last week's debacle and to focus on what is next for the Steelers: the Chiefs at 8:30 p.m. Sunday at Heinz Field. The Chiefs are coming off of a 24-3 victory in which they intercepted six passes thrown by Jets quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick.
The Chiefs' aggressive defense has to be excited after watching the Steelers' offense flounder last week, but with the return of Le'Veon Bell and the prospect of him playing a full game with Ben Roethlisberger and Antonio Brown for the first time since 2014 (ironically in a game also against the Chiefs), there is a lot of excitement about the possibility of a rebound for the offense.
With that, we take a closer look into what the Steelers are up against this weekend.
MARCUS PETERS A PROBLEM
It's just my opinion, but the Chiefs' cornerback, Marcus Peters, is one of the best at his position today and will eventually be the absolute best in the NFL. Peters is not as consistent as someone like Richard Sherman, but he is extremely talented.
He is the kind of player who will capitalize if a quarterback and receiver are even the slightest bit sloppy. That's what happens on this play, as he faces premier receiver DeAndre Hopkins, when he sits on a back shoulder pass and intercepts Brock Osweiler. Roethlisberger became sloppy last week and, doing so on Sunday night, could lead to more problems.
Peters is very good at multiple phases of coverage, whether in press or playing back in zones and reacting to the quarterback
OVERLOAD BLITZES
The Chiefs are not shy about throwing exotic blitzes at quarterbacks. They do not have the front four that the Eagles had, but they do have exceptional starters who know how to get after the quarterback. Dee Ford and Dontari Poe are younger players who can create problems, but Derrick Johnson and Tamba Hali, the player whom sacks Osweiler, are the veteran leaders of the group.
Roethlisberger knows about Hali as he was sacked by him back in 2012 and suffered an injury that would impact him for the rest of the season.
Roethlisberger will have to read blitzes that come from all sides, and the offensive line will have to do a much better job at shutting down pass rushers than they did last week. It will be a challenge, but not one they wouldn't be up to face.
PATIENCE AND MATCHUPS
This play is an example of how the Steelers can overcome the Chiefs' defense with different route combinations. As their defense became preoccupied with receivers, they lost track of running back Danny Woodhead in the end zone. The Chiefs will certainly put attention to Brown, but the return of Bell will bring an additional problem for them to counter. Bell is an excellent receiver both lined up as a receiver and coming from out of the backfield.
The Steelers must overwhelm the Chiefs with matchups that force their defenders to make difficult decisions in coverage. Kansas City's talent in the secondary is in Peters and Eric Berry, but it can still be picked on. The Chiefs will employ a good deal of zone coverage behind their blitz schemes, and Roethlisberger will have chances to expose their weak spots.
If you're thinking that Peters will shadow Brown throughout the entire game, you should know that he primarily plays as the left cornerback in the defense. This means that as the Steelers line up Brown all over the defense, the Chiefs will most likely be looking to compensate for their best cover man not being able to stick with him. That also means more one-on-one opportunities will present themselves for Sammie Coates, Markus Wheaton, Jesse James and maybe even Bell.
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