The chances of winning are not that good when you struggle on offense, turn the ball over twice and commit six penalties for 50 yards, most in crucial situations.
But thankfully for the Steelers, they were playing a bad enough team to overcome that as they beat the Kansas City Chiefs 13-9 at Arrowhead Stadium.
“I have never seen an ugly win,” said safety Ryan Mundy. “They all count the same to us. Is it the way we would’ve liked to win? Probably not, but we will always take a win. We will watch the tape and get ready for next week.”
The offense struggled to move the ball against the Chiefs defense and when they did get big plays in certain situations, they were nullified by penalties.
“It was just something small here, something small there, whether it was a penalty, I don’t know,” said quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. “It’s hard to say right now without knowing the full story of seeing it on film, but I guess I would have to give them credit for being disruptive.”
The Steelers scored all of their 13 points in the second quarter including a 2-yard touchdown pass from Roethlisberger to TE Weslye Saunders.
“I was supposed to go to the back of the endzone and kind of hook up, but I saw Ben get a little pressure so I took off and I was able to make a play, fortunately,” said Saunders.
Despite the struggles of the offense, the defense was able to step up and hold the Chiefs to three field goals, including ending a last minute, game winning drive by Kansas City.
“They played great all day,” said running back Rashard Mendenhall of the defense. “They didn’t give up a touchdown and they gave us great field position, but we didn’t take advantage of it. As long as we can get out of here with a win as a team, it’s a good thing.”
The Steelers improved to 8-3 on the season and remain tied with the Baltimore Ravens for first place in the AFC North Division with the Ravens holding the tiebreaker.
Notes: The Steelers barely outgained the Chiefs 290-252… Despite being 8-3 on the season, the Steelers are -8 in giveaway/takeaway ratio… Maurkice Pouncey (stomach virus) and Troy Polamalu (concussion-like symptoms) both left the game early and did not return… Country music singer Martina McBride, a Sharon, Kansas native, sang the National Anthym…
Image Source – (Photo by Peter Aiken/Getty Images)
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