Chiefs’ Mahomes torches Steelers secondary

Six TD passes expose weak secondary, inept pass rush

Associated Press

PITTSBURGH

Forget the communication issues in the secondary. The lack of a consistent pass rush. The inability to get off the field. Forget the eye-popping statistics the Pittsburgh Steelers gave up in a 42-37 loss to Kansas City on Sunday that left the two-time defending AFC North champions at an early season crossroads.

All the mistakes and missed opportunities — and there were plenty to go around — came down to one very obvious problem.

“We didn’t kick enough [tail],” defensive end Cam Heyward said. “It’s as simple as that. I’m not going to sit up here and sugarcoat it. As a leader I have to be better.”

Heyward is hardly the only one.

A week after racking up seven sacks and helping the Steelers (0-1-1) salvage a tie in Cleveland they perhaps didn’t deserve, Pittsburgh’s revamped defense wilted under the mid-September sun and the steady onslaught of Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.

The Steelers have been in the NFL for 86 seasons and played nearly 1,200 regular-season games. Mahomes became only the second player ever to throw for six touchdowns against Pittsburgh. Hall of Famer Jim Kelly did it for Buffalo in 1991.

Mahomes did it in his third career start.

Ouch.

“We just didn’t cover well enough,” Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said. “We didn’t rush well enough. It is always collective when they are making plays in the passing game. We didn’t get after them.”

Not by a long shot.

Mahomes had more touchdown passes than incompletions, finishing 23 of 28 for 326 yards. The Steelers (0-1-1) only forced Kansas City to punt twice, failed to prevent a touchdown in four red-zone trips by the Chiefs and seemed completely overmatched at times.

Pittsburgh played without veteran cornerback Joe Haden, nursing a hamstring injury. The Steelers started Cam Sutton in Haden’s place, but the experiment lasted barely a quarter. By then Mahomes had already thrown for three scores as Kansas City built a quick 21-point lead.

On the surface, it looked much like Pittsburgh’s 45-42 loss to Jacksonville in the divisional round of the playoffs.

“We felt like we gave them the 21 points,” cornerback Mike Hilton said. “They didn’t really go down and earn it on us. We had a lot of miscommunications and blown coverages that led to the 21 from the start.”

The Steelers rallied behind quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, drawing to a 21-all tie by halftime.

Roethlisberger shook off an achy right elbow that limited him in practice during the week, completing 39 of 60 passes for 452 yards and three touchdowns. The 36-year-old also leapt into the end zone for a 3-yard score with 1:59 to go that got the Steelers (0-1-1) within five.

Rather than attempt an onside kick, Pittsburgh sent it deep. Two runs by Hunt gave Kansas City a big first down and Steelers linebacker Tyler Matakevich was flagged for roughing the punter, allowing the Chiefs to run out the clock and put the two-time defending AFC North champions at a crossroads just two weeks into the season.

“It’s not fun, but it’s still early,” Roethlisberger said. “It’s kind of where are we going to go from here. It’s kind of a mirror, gut check, whatever you want to call it. We’ll see how everyone wants to respond.”

Kansas City found the end zone on its first three possessions in each half. Rather than exploit one matchup, the Chiefs spread the ball around. Seven different Kansas City players caught passes. Five different Chiefs scored.

“Those guys were getting open today,” Mahomes said. “The offensive line was blocking great, so it was making my job a lot easier.”

Not that the Chiefs met with much resistance. The Steelers only forced Kansas City into five third downs all afternoon.

“Every category for the defense we was below average, and you can’t beat a good team like that,” safety Sean Davis said. “We missed tackles. We gave up plays. Too many penalties.”

Things won’t get any easier for Pittsburgh next week. The Steelers travel to Tampa Bay to take on the surprising Buccaneers, who are off to a 2-0 start.