The Kansas City Chiefs will have a chance to lock up the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoff picture on Wednesday with a matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Here are five things to keep in mind heading into game day.
1. Here's a look at the final injury report for both teams.
The Chiefs will be without safety Chamarri Conner (concussion protocol) and offensive tackle D.J. Humphries (hamstring) on Wednesday, while defensive tackle Chris Jones (calf) and offensive tackle Jawaan Taylor (knee) are listed as "Questionable."
The potential absence of Jones, who leads the NFL in total pressures this season, would obviously be a big one. If Taylor can't play, Wanya Morris would presumably take his spot at right tackle after doing so at the end of last week's game against Houston.
As for the Steelers, they'll be without cornerback Joey Porter Jr. (knee) on Wednesday. Pittsburgh will have wide receiver George Pickens back, however, after the standout pass-catcher missed the last three games due to a hamstring injury.
Pickens, who leads the Steelers in catches (55) and receiving yards (850), hasn't played since Week 13, and his absence was felt, as Pittsburgh failed to top 17 points in two of its three games without his services. Specifically, the area where Pickens really changes the Steelers' offense is in the deep passing game. The third-year wide receiver leads all players in catches at least 20 yards downfield this season with 14 despite missing three games.
Those catches – which have taken place an average of 31.5 yards downfield – have racked up 474 yards, which trails only Vikings' wide receiver Justin Jefferson in that category. His presence is significant, and the Chiefs will need to find a way to slow him down on Wednesday.
Here's a look at the final injury report for both teams.
2. The Steelers lead the NFL in takeaways this season.
Pittsburgh has a whopping 31 takeaways this season, which leads the league. The Steelers lead the NFL in fumble recoveries (15) and rank third in interceptions (16). Pittsburgh has also forced at least one turnover in 11 straight games, and at least three turnovers in four of its last six games.
Specifically, edge rushers T.J. Watt (a league-leading six forced fumbles) and Nick Herbig (4 forced fumbles) have combined with cornerback Donte Jackson (5 interceptions) to account for nearly half of that production all by themselves.
The Steelers have often made the most of those takeaways, too, as 24.9% of their total points as a team – the third-highest rate in the league – have occurred following giveaways.
Those takeaways – coupled with the league's No. 5 third-down defense – have also made up for some relative struggles in other areas, including plays of 20+ yards allowed (19th in the NFL) and net passing yards allowed-per-game (20th in the league).
The good news for Kansas City is that the Chiefs haven't committed a turnover since Week 12 (a span of five games). Every other team has turned the ball over at least once during that time.
3. Pittsburgh has tallied the second-most rushing attempts of any team in the league.
The Steelers have recorded 479 rushing attempts this season, which ranks second in the NFL behind only the Philadelphia Eagles (554). That works out to an average of 31.9 rushes-per-game, which also trails only Philadelphia (36.9).
Those carries have been primarily split between tailbacks Najee Harris (238) and Jaylen Warren (103), who are each averaging at least 7.9 carriers-per-game. In fact, since Week 7, both Harris and Warren have logged at least nine carries in seven of the Steelers' nine games.
A commitment to the running game has been a hallmark of the Steelers' success on a game-by-game basis, too. For example, when Pittsburgh has tallied more than 30 rushing attempts this season, the Steelers are 9-1. Conversely, in games where the Steelers record 30 or fewer rushing attempts, Pittsburgh is just 1-4.
For what it's worth, opponents have topped that mark just twice against Kansas City this season (Baltimore with 32 and Buffalo with 31). So, if Kansas City is to win on Wednesday, forcing Pittsburgh to abandon its running game would be the place to start.
4. The quick passing game was humming for the Chiefs last week.
The Chiefs' offensive gameplan against Houston, which relied on a quick passing attack, worked quite well against the Texans' dynamic pass-rush.
On dropbacks in which quarterback Patrick Mahomes threw the ball in fewer than 2.5 seconds, he completed 17-of-19 attempts for 155 yards and a touchdown. Those numbers worked out to an average yards-per-attempt of 8.2 and a passer rating of 118.2.
That scheme could make some sense against the Steelers, who have recorded the second-most quarterback knockdowns (60) of any team in the league. Notably, the trio of edge rusher T.J. Watt (11.5 sacks), defensive tackle Cameron Heyward (8.0 sacks) and edge rusher Alex Highsmith (6.0 sacks) is one the better groups of pass-rushers in the NFL.
Watt, in particular, leads the league with 18 tackles-for-loss this season. He also ranks third in the NFL in quarterback hits with 27.
Additionally, this will mark the third-straight week that Kansas City will have faced an edge rusher who ranks among the league-leaders in sacks. Fortunately, the Chiefs held the first two (Cleveland's Myles Garrett and Houston's Danielle Hunter) without a sack in those respective matchups. Kansas City will now aim to do the same to Watt.
5. Steelers' kicker Chris Boswell has made the most field goals of any player in the league.
Boswell – who leads the NFL in points with 149 – has connected on a league-most 39 field goals this season, successfully connecting on all but three of his attempts for the year. The veteran kicker has been perfect inside the 39-yard line this season, and on kicks beyond that mark, he's still an impressive 19-for-22. Additionally, his 12 successful kicks of 50+ yards rank third in the league.
His services have been necessary, too, because Pittsburgh has scored touchdowns in the red zone at the third-worst rate (48%) of any team in the NFL. Digging a bit deeper, the Steelers also rank second-to-last in terms of "goal-to-go" touchdown efficiency (at 58.3%) and have settled for a field goal on seven of 24 drives.
The Chiefs, meanwhile, have posted the league's No. 8 red zone defense this season (at 51.1%) and held Houston to a 1-for-3 mark last week. Kansas City now owns the No. 3 scoring defense in the NFL through Week 16, and with a shot at the No. 1 overall seed in the AFC playoff picture in sight, the Chiefs will aim to turn in another strong defensive performance on Wednesday.
