Pittsburgh Steelers Vs. Kansas City Chiefs: Bold Predictions For 2017 AFC Divisional Round Showdown

The Pittsburgh Steelers took care of business in their AFC wild card game against the Miami Dolphins as they won by the score of 30-12. As a result, they will be moving on to the next round of the 2017 NFL playoffs.

Next up, the Steelers will take on the Kansas City Chiefs on the road.

While Pittsburgh will be moving on to the AFC divisional round, Ben Roethlisberger probably has plenty of fans worried. That tends to be the case when a team’s star quarterback is in a walking boot after a game.

According to ESPN, “Ben Roethlisberger appeared in a walking boot on his right foot after Sunday’s 30-12 victory over the Miami Dolphins in the AFC wild-card.”

“Roethlisberger told reporters he doesn’t know the nature of the injury, but he said he won’t miss time.”

“We will find out soon, hopefully,” Roethlisberger said.

“You’re always worried about being hurt, but I’ll be out there next week.”

Big Ben being in a walking boot or not, Antonio Brown and Le’Veon Bell likely had Pittsburgh fans pumped up early and often when the Steelers took on the Chiefs. Brown racked up 124 receiving yards and two touchdowns while Bell dropped 167 rushing yards and two touchdowns.

As for the Chiefs, they had the luxury of having a bye week as a result of earning the No. 2 seed in the AFC.

Kansas City might be playing at home, which tends to be a huge advantage in the playoffs, and the team might only be allowing 19.4 points per game, which is the seventh-best mark in the NFL, but these two squads already met once this year… and it didn’t go well for the Chiefs.

To make a long story short, Pittsburgh won by the score of 43-14. Of course, a lot has changed since then, and that battle was also played at home for the Steelers. However, Pittsburgh not only has some serious momentum as a result of already winning a playoff game, but it is also riding an eight-game winning streak.

At this stage of the game, these contests can basically be decided by a coin flip, and any team has a real shot at winning the Super Bowl. Before fans can even start to think about the Super Bowl, though, let’s unleash some bold predictions for Pittsburgh vs. Kansas City.

The Score Is All Tied Up Going Into The Fourth Quarter

After watching Pittsburgh’s offense take over against Miami, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Steelers’ offense do the same thing in the next round of the playoffs.

With that in mind, Kansas City is a Super Bowl contender. Not only did this team win five out of its last six games down the stretch, but it also knocked off the Denver Broncos, Atlanta Falcons, and Oakland Raiders in back-to-back-to-back games during that same stretch. Plus, Kansas City swept Denver and Oakland in 2016.

So, yes, the Steelers might be red-hot (that might be an understatement), but the Chiefs are clearly no joke.

Alex Smith Matches Ben Roethlisberger With Two Touchdowns

Now this is where the bold meter is really being raised a notch or two.

Here’s why: Alex Smith racked up 15 passing touchdowns in 2016. Roethlisberger recorded 29 passing touchdowns.

If Big Ben has a five-touchdown performance like he did against the Chiefs earlier in the season, then this prediction very well could be destroyed. Nonetheless, two passing touchdowns apiece for the quarterbacks sounds about right.

Le’Veon Bell Carries Pittsburgh Into The AFC Championship Game With Monster Fourth Quarter

Le’Veon Bell is a top player in this league — you may have heard. After all, the running machine had 1,268 rushing yards, seven rushing touchdowns, 616 receiving yards, and two receiving touchdowns this season. Reminder, he only played in 12 games.

Look for Bell to have at least 50 rushing yards in the fourth quarter. Don’t be surprised if he has a few receiving yards and a score or two as well. The result? Pittsburgh will end up winning this AFC showdown and will also move one step closer to making the Super Bowl.

Kansas City might be playing at home and it might have the higher seed (Pittsburgh is the No. 3 seed in the AFC), but Pittsburgh arguably has the most dangerous Big Three (Roethlisberger, Bell, and Brown) in the NFL, which is saying quite a bit since this league is flooding with talent.

If the Steelers’ Big Three goes off once again, then Kansas City is in serious trouble.

[Featured Image by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images]