Steelers hope for no letdown vs. KC

Associated Press

PITTSBURGH

Two years later, Brett Keisel is still stunned.

Ask the Pittsburgh Steelers defensive end how the then-defending Super Bowl champions lost five straight games late in the 2009 season to knock themselves out of playoff contention and his rapidly expanding beard shakes from side to side.

“We missed the playoffs by one game, one whole game,” Keisel said. “You think about what you could have done differently. It can haunt you.”

Perhaps the most stunning loss during the slide was a 27-24 overtime defeat in Kansas City, a game in which the Steelers outgained the then-2-7 Chiefs by more than 200 yards and enjoyed a 10-point second-half lead.

Three turnovers, eight penalties and an uncharacteristic late defensive collapse sent Pittsburgh into a tailspin. Losses to Cleveland and Oakland followed even after coach Mike Tomlin promised to “unleash hell” in December.

Could the Steelers have made a legitimate bid for back-to-back championships? Keisel isn’t sure. The only thing he knows is three meltdowns against so-so teams cost his team the opportunity.

The memory remains fresh, one of the reasons why the Steelers (7-3) have been one of the NFL’s best teams over the last two years heading into Sunday’s visit to Kansas City (4-6).

The Steelers insist there is no secret. At a place where “the standard is the standard,” the standard doesn’t mention losing to teams you’re supposed to beat.

Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger points to a no-nonsense attitude set by the team leadership that trickles through the locker room.

“I think a lot of the guys’ mentality is, we don’t look at a team as, their record is not that good, we need to play down a level,” he said. “We need to play at our level of play, regardless of who we play. We just judge it off our expectation of ourselves.”