Mike Tomlin called it Redemption Sunday. The Steelers looked like a much different team than a week ago.
Before the first quarter was over the Kansas City Chiefs were trailing 22-0. Ben Roethlisberger tossed three touchdown passes, taking advantage of two Chiefs turnovers.
Chiefs running back Spencer Ware fumbled the football giving the Steelers great field position. Roethlisberger found Darrius Heyward-Bey wide open for the touchdown. The Steelers opted to go for the two point conversion and cashed in 8-0.
On the very next series, Alex Smith threw an interception. That set up a quick touchdown strike to Antonio Brown. 15-0.
Then after a terrible punt gave the Steelers great field position, Roethlisberger and Brown connected again on a 38-yard touchdown pass.
In the second quarter, the pace of the game slowed down a bit. The Steelers defense pitched a shutout. Roethlisberger then orchestrated a 10-play 80-yard drive hitting tight end Jesse James in the corner of the end zone. Roethlisberger threw four touchdown passes giving the Steelers a 29-0 lead at the half.
Coming out of the locker room it only took the Steelers 3:41 seconds to score. The 6-play 75-yard drive ended with another touchdown pass from Roethlisberger, this one to Markus Wheaton. 36-0.
The Chiefs defense was expected to put up more of a fight, but the Steelers were dominant on both sides of the football. The defense was unable to close the deal on a shutout as the Chiefs finally got on the board in the fourth quarter.
A few game notes:
- The Steelers jumped out to a 22-0 lead which was the most points scored in the first quarter in team history.
- At one point in the fourth quarter Ben Roethlisberger had more touchdown passes than incomplete passes. He finished the game 22-of-27 for 300 yds and 5 TDs.
- Le’Veon Bell saw his first action of the season. He finished with 18 carries for 144 yards.
- Antonio Brown caught two touchdown passes. He also wore cleats to honor Arnold Palmer. The legendary golfer passed away last week.
- Cam Heyward had 3 quarterback sacks.
- Hall of Famer Kevin Greene was honored at halftime.
The Steelers move to 3-1 with a 43-14 win over the Chiefs. Next Sunday the New York Jets come to Heinz field. Kickoff is 1 p.m. You can watch it on WTAJ-TV.