The Pittsburgh Steelers did something few believed they could do going into the final week of the 2021 NFL regular season. With a win over the Baltimore Ravens, a loss by the Indianapolis Colts to the Jacksonville Jaguars, and no tie between the Los Angeles Chargers and Las Vegas Raiders. It all happened, and now the Steelers are set to face the Kansas City Chiefs (-12.5) in the Wild Card Round of the 2021 postseason. We saw this game a few weeks back, and it would be an understatement to say it didn’t go well for the Steelers. Can they turn it around in just a few weeks when it matters most? Hell, anything’s possible, as seen when Jacksonville beat the Colts last Sunday with nothing to play for. The only problem for the Steelers is that Patrick Mahomes is not Carson Wentz. Let’s look at this seeming mismatch that will be played on Saturday night?

Steelers vs Chiefs Odds for Wild Card round

Find the best place to bet the Steelers/Chiefs matchup by going to betting.net. Most sportsbooks had the Steelers as 13.0-point underdogs to begin the week. This is the most significant spread of any game in the playoffs. Pittsburgh has a money line of +500 while the Chiefs are favorites at -700. The over/under point total for this game is set at 46.5. The line is pretty accurate when considering the first matchup between these teams produced.

How do the Steelers win

This is simple they have to slow down the Chiefs offense; Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs have scored a whopping 35.4 points per game over their final five contests of the regular season. Meanwhile, Pittsburgh scored 19.8 points per game over this span and had just one 30-point game in the entire 2021 season. The Steelers will need to apply pressure without the blitz, which means T. J. Watt and the defensive line will have to get pressure with just the front four. The issue for the Steelers is the ability to defend on the backend. The Chiefs are much more methodical on offense than they have been in the past, which means they need plays that result in a loss of yards and ends up putting the Chiefs in third and long situations.

The other issue will be scoring points; the Steelers have to put it in the endzone in the red zone; a field goal will get them beat. Big Ben will have to play better than he has all year, and Najee Harris will have to have a big day on the ground.

How do the Chiefs win?

The Chiefs to win just need to not turn the ball over. The Steelers defensive line has to be the biggest concern for the Chiefs, but if they neutralize the Steelers defensive line, this game will be over quick.

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Prediction

I believe the Steelers will be more competitive this time around, and I expect Big Ben to go down guns blazing, but after a relatively tight first half, I look for the Chiefs to slowly pull away. Pick Chiefs 41  Steelers 21