The Kansas City Chiefs once again started their season with a head-turning victory, but experts still say the Chiefs are heavy underdogs against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 2. KC has the Chargers' number, but it seems the Steelers have KC's number. However, Pro Football Focus listed the Chargers' secondary as the NFL's second-best in their preseason rankings. Pittsburgh came in at #23. Could the Kingdom's new leader Patrick Mahomes continue his success by exorcising some demons in the Steel City? I may break something in joy if that happens.
Tomorrow's game is another huge test for KC's flawed secondary, which allowed 424 yards and benefited from numerous dropped Philip Rivers passes that could've significantly changed the game last week. Big Ben Roethlisberger threw three picks and fumbled twice, but still threw for 335 yards and scored 21 points on the Cleveland Browns in his start to the season. Perhaps the deciding factor in tomorrow's game will be if Chiefs linebacker Dee Ford provides enough pressure opposite Justin Houston to make Ben uncomfortable and force some turnovers.
This is the beginning of something great for Chiefs Kingdom. I'm still not convinced that this will translate to any playoff success this season, though. Remember all the well-thrown passes dropped by Chargers last week. Remember the several times when the KC secondary looked completely lost. Remember how dangerous JuJu Smith-Schuster and Antonio Brown are together. Remember that Mahomes will throw more picks than Alex Smith, and remember that KC's leading turnover producer is now a Los Angeles Ram. I only ask you to remember all this so we as fans can temper our expectations while this Chiefs offense keeps doing things that are truly unforgettable.
Here are my three predictions for tomorrow's game in Pittsburgh:
1. Patrick Mahomes continues to impress the football world while throwing for more yards and fewer TDs than in Week 1. Pittsburgh's defense certainly isn't the stalwart unit of years prior, but Mike Tomlin will still have his team hyped to break hearts in KC yet again. Also, Mahomes is due to turn the ball over, which should result in less scoring and possibly more passing yards.
2. It's time for Travis Kelce to get into the mix with an offense considered to be the league's best. I think he and Patty Cake connect at least four times for 75+ yards.
3. Chiefs defensive coordinator Bob Sutton must have nightmares about Antonio Brown. The Steelers' best wide-out averages 16 yards per catch or more the last four times he faced off with the Chiefs. I don't expect that to stop without Eric Berry, Marcus Peters or Le'Veon Bell on the field tomorrow. Our man Mahomes should keep this one close, but I predict triple-digit receiving yards for Brown and a 34-31 victory for Pittsburgh. I know, boooooo. I hope I'm wrong, too.
Doug LaCerte writes about KC sports and uses his Twitter and Facebook almost exclusively to plug his articles. Shameless.
