The redhot Pittsburgh Steelers visit Arrowhead Stadium versus the Kansas City Chiefs in a Divisional Playoffs battle. The 12-5 Steelers took care of Miami in the Wildcard round and have now won their last eight games, while the 12-4 Chiefs won the AFC West and are coming off a bye. This Sunday contest has a start time of 1:05 pm EST.
Vegas odds have the Chiefs listed as 1.5 point favorites, while the total has been set at 46. This contest will be televised on NBC with a start time of 1:05 pm EST.
Breaking Down The Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers have really been hot as they won their last 7 games in a row to end the regular season and then they beat the Dolphins by a 30-12 score in the Wildcard round. The big news at the end of that game was that Ben Roethlisberger was seen in a walking boot after the game, but he stated that he will be playing in this game. They do need him as he has really made this offense go. Ben threw for 3819 yards this year with 29 TDs and 13 INTs. He had a QBR of 95.4, which was 11th in the league. His big target was Antonio Brown, who had 1284 yards receiving, which was 5th in the league. Le’Veon Bell didn’t really have a great start to hi year, but he did rumble for 139.2 ypg on the ground over his final 6 games of the regular season and then went out and had 167 yards rushing vs a bad Miami Run defense. He will face another bad run defense in this one. Pittsburgh ranked 7th in total offense, 6th in passing, 14th in rushing and 11th in scoring, putting up 24.9 ppg. The defense for the Steelers did not play well early in the year, but they have now allowed just 16.6 ppg in their last eight games, including the win over Miami. On the year, the steelers were 12th in total defense, 16th vs the pass, 13th vs the run and 10th in points allowed, giving up just 20.4 ppg. They allowed just 305 yards of offense to the Dolphins. They allowed n357 yards of offense in the first meeting between these teams, but still won 43-14.
Trends: The Steelers have gone 5-1-1 ATS in their last 7 games following a straight up win and 12-3-3 ATS in their last 18 games in January, but 0-3-2 ATS in their last 5 playoff road games, while the road team is 1-7 ATS the last 8 games in this series. The Over is 21-6-1 in their last 28 games in January, while the Under is 21-8-1 in their last 30 vs. AFC.
Breaking Down The Kansas City Chiefs
While the Steelers were having a cakewalk against the Dolphins, the Chiefs were sitting at home, getting rest. They won the AQFC West with a 12-4 record and were able to grab a bye week in the first round. The Chiefs Won their last two games of the year and they went 6-2 at home. Looking over their stats overall, they don’t have a look of a 12-4 team. On defense, they allowed plenty of yards, but buckled down in the redzone, while on offense they didn’t look that good overall, but their defense did set them up in good field position many times. That defense will really need to be sharp in this one as the Steelers offense is hot and can put up big numbers at anytime. The Chiefs come in ranked 24th in total yards allowed, 18th vs the pass 26th vs the run and 7th in points allowed. That run defense is key and if they can’t stop a very hot Bell, then they will be in big trouble in this one. On offense they have a game manager at QB and Alex Smith has thrown for 3502 yards with a 15 TDs and 8 INTs. He had a QBR of 91.2, which was 16th in the league. During the regular season they ranked 20th in total offense, 19th in passing, 15th in rushing and 13th in scoring, putting up 24.3 ppg. This offense must now face a very hot defense.
Trends: Kansas city has gone 6-0 ATS in their last 6 games after allowing more than 250 yards passing in their previous game and 5-1 ATS vs. a team with a winning record, but just 3-9 ATS in their last 12 games following a ATS win and 1-7 ATS in their last 8 playoff games. The Under is 21-7 in their last 28 games after accumulating more than 250 yards passing in their previous game.
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