2015 Season: Steelers lose 23-13 in Arrowhead in Landry Jones’ First NFL Start
The Chiefs managed to prevail in this matchup despite entering the game on a 5 game losing streak. This victory seemed to turn their season around, as they embarked on an 11 game winning streak that lasted all the way into the playoffs.
While this game certainly would have been a different story with Ben at the helm, their are still several important lessons for the Steelers to learn from this defeat.
Win the Turnover Battle
First of all, even though all of the turnovers were committed by Landry Jones, Pittsburgh will have to take better care of the football should they want to leave Arrowhead with a victory.
The Steelers lost the turnover battle 3-0 as Landry Jones tossed two interceptions and lost a fumble. These struggles were understandable as Arrowhead is an extremely hostile situation for a young QB to make his first career start.
However, Big Ben hasn’t been himself as of late in terms of taking care of the football. In 3 of his last 4 starts he has tossed 2 or more interceptions, throwing 2 interceptions against Miami, 2 against Baltimore and 3 against the Bills. Even though Pittsburgh has found a way to come out on top in all 3 of these matchups, the Steelers are unlikely to walk away with a victory in Arrowhead if Ben continues to give the ball away.
Win on 3rd Down
Additionally, the Landry Jones led Steelers struggled on 3rd down in this 2015 matchup. The offense went 2-10 on 3rd down conversions, and similarly struggled to get off the field on defense, allowing the Chiefs’ offense to convert 9 out of 16 3rd down chances.
Lesson
The moral of this game is Pittsburgh will have to take care of the football and pick up 3rd downs to sustain drives against the Chiefs defense. I would expect the Steelers in this upcoming matchup to lean on Le’Veon Bell to avoid turnovers and control the time of possession. With the threat of the run Ben will then be able to pick his spots and hopefully connect with Antonio Brown and Co. for several scores.