Smeltz: Steelers-Chiefs: 3 Keys to Victory

Hello, everybody. As I promised in my NFL Week 7 preview, I am writing about the Pittsburgh Steelers in a separate preview. After a surprising win over the Arizona Cardinals last week that was spearheaded by 3rd string QB Landry Jones, the Steel City is feeling pretty good about their team. Jones will get the nod again this week, as Ben Roethlisberger is still out until at least next Sunday and Mike Vick just stinks. Pittsburgh's next hurdle will be the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium. A win would move them to 5-2 and further boost the growing confidence that this city has in their team. Here are by 3 keys to this taking place.

Key #1: Landry keeps it steady

It might be a little much to expect Landry Jones to perform as well as he did last week, but I don't think it's a stretch to think that he can still put together a solid performance. To be blunt, the Chiefs are putrid. At 1-5, they are not a team that will require a great quarterback performance to defeat, and that takes some pressure off of Jones. I expect Jones to have 210 yards passing along with a touchdown, which would be enough in my mind to defeat Kansas City. Martavis Bryant was huge for Jones last week, and I expect another solid performance out of him as well. The Steelers also have Le'Veon Bell in the backfield, which might help Jones quite a bit. In short, all the Steelers need from Jones is a decent performance in order to leave Missouri with a win.

Likelihood of Executing: Strong

Key #2: Defense comes up big

The Steelers defense has been a very pleasant surprise so far this season, and first-year defensive coordinator Keith Butler deserves a lot of credit for this. The Chiefs are not exactly an offensive powerhouse, so in theory, the Steelers task at hand should not be that difficult. If the Steelers defense can hold the Chiefs to 20 points or less, they have a great chance of winning this game. I think that this is a very realistic goal for the defensive unit, as they have made me a huge believer after that performance against an outstanding Arizona offense last week.

Likelihood of Executing: Very Strong

Key #3: Don't fall into the trap

Although the Steelers have the edge over KC in virtually every category, this has the potential to be a trap game. Pittsburgh will be playing in a hostile environment, and that can cause trouble for any visiting team no matter how bad the home team is. Pittsburgh needs to try not to get overly confident and ignore the Arrowhead noise the best way they possibly can in order to not fall into this trap.

Likelihood of Executing: Strong

Final Prediction
I expect the Steelers to execute every one of my 3 keys, and today should be a somewhat comfortable win for the Black and Gold. Pittsburgh is better than KC in every way and if they can't win this game, they are not as good as we think they are.

Steelers 31, Chiefs 17