Oct 15, 2017 By Jim Wexell for The 8 min read

MEMORABLE SERIES MOMENT

Steelers 17, Chiefs 7

Oct. 7, 1996, at Arrowhead Stadium

It’s the Steelers’ sixth October game in Kansas City, and the Steelers are 4-1. The highlight win was this 1996 game matching the 4-1 Chiefs and 3-1 Steelers, and future Hall of Fame running backs Marcus Allen and Jerome Bettis. Both backs scored touchdowns, with Bettis’ 5-yarder giving the Steelers a 14-7 lead late in the third. Led by outside linebacker Chad Brown, the Steelers held Allen and QB Steve Bono in check on this Monday night, and after Boo Bell forced a fumble, Norm Johnson kicked his third field goal to clinch the win with 1:10 left.

Bettis finished with 103 yards on 27 carries (3.8) but fumbled twice. Allen was held to 69 yards on 18 carries (3.8). The offensive star for the Steelers was receiver Charles Johnson with 125 receiving yards as Mike Tomczak’s primary target.

TALE OF THE TAPE

“The guy who jumps out at you is Kareem Hunt. A lot of guys when they run the outside zone will allow the play to develop. They’ll wait for the crease. But Hunt hits it quick. If he sees what he wants, like the nose tackle overplaying the center, he’ll cut it backside right now. If he sees the tackle hook the d-end, he’ll press it to the onside. He plants and he takes off. He puts on the retro rockets and gets through the crease. He has that perfect running back body, really thick in the legs and very strong hindquarters. He’s got tremendous balance. He makes a lot of guys miss with his shiftiness but will also run over a lot of guys. He breaks a lot of tackles, and then he explodes into the secondary. He has great acceleration.” — Steelers Radio analyst Tunch Ilkin.

TOP QUESTION

Can the Steelers bounce back from a drubbing?

The Steelers are 5-1 the week after a loss of 20 points or more under Mike Tomlin, with the only next-week loss coming in 2007 following the blowout loss in New England that was supposed to be “guaranteed.” Since then the Steelers have rallied from the 2016 loss at Philadelphia, the 2014 losses at Baltimore and Cleveland, the 2013 loss at New England and the 2011 loss at Baltimore with wins by an average margin of 18 points.

THREE QUESTIONS

With C MAURKICE POUNCEY

Q: Was Tom Petty big at your college (Florida)?

MP: “Nah, he actually wasn’t. But half my family is white and the other half is black, so I’ve been around country music.”

Q: Isn’t he rock-n-roll?

MP: “Same thing.”

Q: Ever see him around Gainesville?

MP: “Nah, we didn’t see him around but they played the songs and obviously made a big deal about him being from there. Rightfully so. I mean, he was a legend. It’s not like someone I cut on my iPad, but when they played him during the games we were all into it.”

GAME BREAKDOWN

What to look for from the Steelers at 4:25 p.m. at Arrowhead:

ON OFFENSE:

Look for the Steelers to get back to running the ball to keep the Chiefs off the field. The Chiefs allow 4.6 yards per carry as inside linebacker Derrick Johnson has been slow in returning from his second season-ending Achilles’ injury in three years. The Chiefs have also struggled to replace star safety Eric Berry, who ruptured his Achilles’ in the opener. The Chiefs can rush the passer with Justin Houston and Dee Ford, which should feed into the hand-it-to-Le’Veon Bell philosophy.

ON DEFENSE:

The Steelers’ tackling has been inconsistent but they’ll need to gang-tackle Hunt, 4.2 speedster Tyreek Hill, tight end Travis Kelce and still-mobile-at-33 QB Alex Smith. Hunt was a third-round pick out of Toledo who has average size (5-10, 216) and speed (4.62) but he leads the NFL with 609 rushing yards at 6.3 yards per carry. The Chiefs have an average offensive line that the Steelers will need to beat to disrupt Smith and his league-leading completion percentage (76.6) and passer rating (125.8). The Steelers’ defense is at full health.

PREDICTION

A lot of fancy pickers like the Steelers to bounce back and surprise everyone today, but my initial outlook was bleak and I have to stick with that. The Steelers were 0-for-4 in the red zone at Arrowhead last season, and 0-for-3 last week, so I see continued struggles. We could also see another fourth-quarter bludgeoning in the run game for a tired Steelers defense in a tight game. And then there’s playoff revenge from last season for the Chiefs. But I’ll let Pouncey argue that: “It should motivate them, but don’t you think we’re going to be motivated after getting our (butts) kicked 30-9? Heck, everybody’s motivated. We’ll see. If we go out there and get beat by 50, then you can say, ‘That Pouncey he’s so full of (it).'” … Chiefs, 23-16.

BY THE NUMBERS

10: Tackles last Sunday by Steelers nose tackle Javon Hargrave. “He’s really quick from side to side. It’s very hard to cut him off,” said Keith Butler, who couldn’t remember Casey Hampton getting as many in a game. And Butler was right. Hampton played 12 seasons and never made more than eight tackles in a game. That big game was also against Jacksonville, in the 2007 regular-season loss.

11: TD passes without an interception for Alex Smith through five games. Only Steve Bartkowski and Roman Gabriel had accomplished such numbers in the past.

32.8: Chiefs’ average points per game, surpassing former coach Todd Haley’s goal — for the Steelers.

75.8: Ben Roethlisberger’s passer rating, only slightly better than the 75.4 of his worst season (2006).

775: Yards from scrimmage for Hunt, joining Adrian Peterson as the only two rookies with 100+ scrimmage yards in their first five games.

DOWNLOADS

n Right tackle Marcus Gilbert returned this week, which he said “is going to be a turning point for a lot of the guys out there.” Gilbert pointed to continuity. “Being back and having all our guys working in their normal spots, I think that gives us a leg up, especially with moving Chris Hubbard around. He’s done a great job. They’ve been moving him around to the tight end position and it’s helped us big time, just to move those big bodies out there. It’s critical.”

n Left guard Ramon Foster is questionable with his broken thumb. So much for continuity. He would be replaced by B.J. Finney, who grew up in Kansas as a Steelers fan. Finney’s played guard, center and tight end, and his best position is left guard.

n Eli Rogers emerges from the doghouse this week to work into the Steelers’ offense as a slot receiver and possibly a punt returner. Rogers has as many receiving yards (54) as he had receptions last season, his first in the league. Perhaps his limited work has been part of the offense’s problem. “He’s an inside slot guy who really knows how to get open in man (coverage) really quick,” said Roethlisberger. “(He’s) a guy that takes pride in his work and doesn’t make a lot of mistakes. If he does, he grows from it. So, just excited for him to get the opportunity again.”

n In last year’s playoff game at Arrowhead, James Harrison led the Steelers with 6 tackles, including 3 tackles-for-loss, 2 QB hits and 1 sack while going up mainly against left tackle Eric Fisher, who’s back this year. But Harrison’s played in only 7 snaps this season, behind rookie T.J. Watt. And Keith Butler hinted Harrison might see time in this one. “It’s always good to have James Harrison when you’re playing Kansas City and let the offensive tackle see him,” said Butler. “I’ll just say that.”

n Hill returned a punt 82 yards for a touchdown last Sunday, his fifth TD of 75+ yards since he entered the league last season. But that only gave the speedster 100 yards on his eight returns this season. He hasn’t returned a kickoff.

PARTING SHOT

“I haven’t seen any drop-off in Ben. … I’ve seen him grow each and every year.” — Todd Haley.