Pittsburgh Steelers Meet the Opponent: Kansas City Chiefs

Offense

My goodness, can I gush about this offense for a second? Tyreek Hill headlines week one’s best offense after a monster seven reception, 169 yard day to add two touchdowns along with it. Hill remains of the most explosive players not only for the Chiefs, but the entire league thanks to his speed (His nickname is Cheetah. Let that sink in), and athleticism to make plays with his body as well.

Former Bill/Ram Sammy Watkins starts opposite of Hill, as Watkins has shown the ability to be a number one receiver when given the opportunity. As Watkins still builds a rapport with his quarterback (We’ll get to him in a second), Travis Kelce anchors the tight end spot for the Chiefs, and is the clear second best tight end in the league only behind Rob Gronkowski.

Quarterback Patrick Mahomes had a lot of expectations to fill in his first start after sitting a year behind now-departed Alex Smith, and he delivered. Mahomes is a young guy with a rocket launcher of an arm, and the athleticism to make plays with his legs as well. Mahomes appears to be legitimate, which is bad news for a Steelers defense that just gave up 21 points to Tyrod Taylor and the Browns.

Up front, Kansas City’s offensive line entered the season as a middle of the pack unit, and had the luxury of avoiding premier pass-rusher Joey Bosa last Sunday thanks to a foot injury that kept Bosa out. The Chiefs line gave up one sack against the Chargers last Sunday, and will look to continue its improvement in week two.

The offensive line was headlined by the superb play of guard Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, who didn’t allow a single pressure on Mahomes all game (side note, he’s actually a doctor, too). The outside of the line remains anchored by the ever so steady Eric Fisher on the left, and the impressive Mitchell Schwartz on the right. This line isn’t talked about among the best, but 2018 is off to a good start for the big men up-front.

Behind the line runs Kareem Hunt, coming off a tremendous rookie campaign in 2017. Hunt failed to establish anything on the ground last week, rushing for a mere 49 yards on 16 attempts. Yet Hunt still makes himself available in the passing attack, as he finds a lot of balls dumped his way. Hunt possesses the ability to break any given play into a long run, and excels in shedding tackles as well.

With the Chiefs offense, you can expect to see a healthy dose of practically everything. The Chiefs are not afraid to run the ball 20+ times a game, while also throwing the ball on short, intermediate, and deep routes. Hill’s speed allows him to be dangerous on both deep balls down the sideline, and on short crossing routes as well. Kelce excels taking on linebackers in coverage, so expect to see Kansas City to try to match a guy like Vince Williams on him when possible.

Manning the Chiefs offense is sort of tag team duo between head coach Andy Reid, and first year coordinator Eric Bienemy. Reid has consistently been one of the league’s best offensive minds of the past few decades, getting the best out of his offense with scheming and play-calling. Kansas City’s offense scored 31 points in the opening week of play against a considerably solid Chargers defense, will week two in Pittsburgh bring the Chiefs that same fortune?