Pittsburgh is a Familiar Foe for Kansas City at Arrowhead

The Steelers are the only AFC team to own a winning record at Arrowhead with two or more regular season appearances there with a 9-4 (.692) mark (regular and postseason). Pittsburgh is 11-9 (.550) on the road under Mike Tomlin. The Steelers have lost three of their last five road games, but produced a 28-10 win at Denver (11/9) in their most recent road contest. Tomlin will make his debut at Arrowhead as an NFL head coach. KC is 25-11 (.694) against head coaches making their regular season debuts at Arrowhead since ‘94.

Chiefs-Steelers Scoring Stats
Dating back to ‘95, Kansas City is 56-11 (.836) at Arrowhead when holding opponents to 21 points or less and is 48-4 (.923) at home over that same span when limiting foes to 17 points or less. Pittsburgh owns a 28-13 (.683) record under head coach Mike Tomlin. The Steelers have been held to 21 points or less in 11 of those 13 losses under Tomlin, including a 18-12 loss vs. Cincinnati (11/15). The Steelers are 22-3 (.880) under Tomlin when scoring 21 points or more, including a streak of 13 straight victories.

The Steelers are 22-2 (.917) under Tomlin when holding opponents to 17 points or less. Pittsburgh currently ranks fifth in the NFL in scoring defense, allowing 17.4 ppg. However, the Steelers have allowed an NFL-high seven return TDs, meaning their defense is permitting an NFL-low 12.2 actual offensive points per game. KC has been outscored by a 103-53 margin in four home contests this season, an average margin of 25.8 to 13.3 ppg. The Chiefs have held their opponents to 20 points or less in their last eight victories.

Chiefs, Steelers Have Both Been Involved in Some Close Calls
The Chiefs and Steelers are both 1-3 in games decided by seven points or less in 2009. Kansas City’s 16-10 win at Oakland (11/15) was the club’s first win in such a circumstance under Todd Haley. Pittsburgh’s lone win in a close game this season came by a 13-10 count vs. Tennessee (9/10). Pittsburgh’s three losses in 2009 have come by a combined 12 points (4.0 ppg). The Steelers have scored 27 points or more in five of their six wins this season, averaging 26.8 ppg in those wins, while allowing just 16.5 ppg. In three losses, Pittsburgh has been outscored 19.3 to 15.3.

A Fast Start is Imperative Against Pittsburgh
The Chiefs will face a Pittsburgh squad that has allowed an NFL-low 15 points in the first quarter. Kansas City has scored 12 points in the fi rst quarter in 2009, but owns first-quarter FGs in each of its last two games. The Chiefs have led at halftime in three games in 2009, winning two of those games. KC held a 10-3 edge in a 26-20 OT loss vs. Dallas (10/11), a 3-0 advantage in a 14-6 win at Washington (10/18) and last week’s 16-10 win at Oakland (11/15).

Pittsburgh is 24-5 (.828) when tied or leading at halftime under Mike Tomlin, but just 4-8 (.333) when trailing at intermission. Pittsburgh led 9-6 vs. Cincinnati (11/5). Pittsburgh is 23-4 (.852) when leading after three quarters under Tomlin, but is just 5-9 (.357) when tied or trailing entering the fourth quarter. The Chiefs have scored 49.3% of their points in the fourth quarter (70 of 142). Only seven teams have scored more points in the final period. Only six clubs have permitted more fourth-quarter points than Kansas City (69) and Pittsburgh (68). The Steelers have allowed 43.3% of their points (68 of 157) in the final quarter.

QB Matt Cassel Seeking Initial Victory at Arrowhead
Chiefs QB Matt Cassel is seeking to register his initial victory at Arrowhead. Cassel has thrown 10 TDs and is on pace to finish the year with 18 TDs which would be the highest total by a Chiefs passer since QB Trent Green had 27 TD passes in 2004. Cassel has thrown just six INTs, compared to eight INTs for Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger. The Chiefs will face a Pittsburgh defense that is tied for fourth in the league with 25.0 sacks. Pittsburgh has allowed 27.0 sacks, while the Chiefs have permitted 32.0. Cassel owns a 4-1 record as a starter when he posts a rating of 100.0 or better. He completed a season-high four passes of 20+ yards at Oakland (11/15) and has seven 20-yard completions in the Chiefs last two contests.

Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger Makes His Arrowhead Debut
Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger will make his initial NFL start at Arrowhead on Sunday. The only other AFC venue where he has yet to play is Ralph Wilson Stadium in Buffalo. Roethlisberger owns a 57-23 (.713) regular season record as an NFL starter, including a 25-14 (.641) mark on the road. He will become the ninth different signal caller to open a regular season contest at Arrowhead.

The last two Steelers QBs to make their first start with the Steelers at Arrowhead both left Kansas City with a loss. QB Tommy Maddox completed 28 of 47 passes for 336 yards with one TD and three INTs (62.0 rating) in a 41-20 loss at Arrowhead (9/14/03). QB Kordell Stewart completed 11 of 21 passes for 101 yards with one TD and one INT (61.8 rating) in a 13-10 loss (11/3/97).

Roethlisberger owns a 23-2 (.920) record when compiling a rating of 100.0 or better (min. 20 atts.). He has produced a 100.0+ rating in four of his last six starts. He also owns a 27-7 (.794) record when throws two or more TDs. Dating back to ‘95, KC has registered at least one game with two INTs at Arrowhead in every season over that span. During that timeframe, the Chiefs are 33-4 (.892) when forcing two or more INTs. S Mike Brown had two INTs at Oakland (11/15). Roethlisberger is 6-14 (.300) in games when he suffers two or more INTs. In his only previous appearance against KC, Roethlisberger completed 16 of 19 passes for 238 yards with two TDs in a 45-7 victory (10/15/06). Pittsburgh currently ranks eighth in the NFL, averaging 253.3 passing ypg.

Chiefs Rank Among the NFL’s Best in the Turnover Column
The Chiefs are tied for fourth in the NFL, committing just 10 turnovers in 2009. KC has thrown six INTs to tie for the fifth-lowest total in the league. Opponents have scored 16 points off Chiefs giveaways. Only Baltimore (13) and Indianapolis (15) have relinquished fewer points after turnovers and no team has given up a lower percentage of its total points off giveaways than KC (7.4%). Dating back to ‘90, the Chiefs boast the NFL’s best turnover differential at +160. Pittsburgh is a distant second at +86. Over that span, Kansas City (632) is the only team that has forced more takeaways than Pittsburgh (631), while no squad has committed fewer giveaways than Kansas City (472).

Pittsburgh is 36-2 (.947) with a positive turnover ratio dating back to 2004 when Dick LeBeau returned to the club as defensive coordinator. Pittsburgh is 15-1 (.938) with a positive turnover ratio under Mike Tomlin, including a string of 11 consecutive wins. The Steelers have won 15 consecutive road games with a positive turnover margin dating back to a 13-3 win at Miami (9/26/04). Pittsburgh has been negative in its last five losses dating back to 2008. Both Kansas City and Pittsburgh were -1 in their games last week with different results.

Past Precedent First-Half, Second-Half Turnarounds
In 2008, 11 teams had a losing record in the first half of the season. Four of those 11 teams - Cincinnati (4-3-1), Houston (5-3), San Diego (5-3) and San Francisco (5-3) - rebounded to produce a winning record in the second half of the 2008 season. The Chiefs would love to emulate the second-half efforts of those clubs, especially since three of those four teams currently have a winning record in 2009: Cincinnati (7-2), Houston (5-3) and San Diego (6-3).

More Dramatic Stats on P Dustin Colquitt, KC’s Special Teams
No NFL punter has forced more fair catches than P Dustin Colquitt (17) and no NFL punter has had more of his punts downed than Colquitt (14). In fact, the next-closest competitor in that department is N.Y. Jets P Steve Weatherford (9). Thanks in large part to Colquitt, Kansas City ranks third in the NFL, allowing just 5.0 yards per punt return. The Chiefs have also been consistent in kickoff coverage, ranking sixth in the league in that department, permitting just 20.7 yards per kickoff return.

Chiefs rookie K Ryan Succop has connected on 14 FGs, the second-highest total by a Chiefs rookie behind only the 21 made FGs established by Hall of Fame K Jan Stenerud in ‘67. Succop has a pair of FGs from 50+ yards in 2009. Only K Nick Lowery has topped that total. Lowery had four 50-yard FGs in ‘80 and made three 50-yard FGs in ‘85 and ‘88.

Chiefs-Steelers Rushing Stats to Watch
Kansas City is allowing 31.0 fewer rushing ypg and has relinquished five fewer rushing TDs than it did at the nine-game mark in 2008. Pittsburgh is allowing a league-low 69.3 rushing ypg. The Steelers have gone 27 consecutive games without permitting a 100-yard rusher, the second-longest active streak in the NFL. Minnesota has gone 32 straight contests without permitting a 100-yard back. Ex-Jaguars RB Fred Taylor was the last runner to top the century mark against the Steelers, doing it in a 29-22 win vs. Pittsburgh (12/16/07).

The Chiefs boast a pair of players with 100-yard outings at Arrowhead on their resumes. RB Jamaal Charles also had 106 yards vs. Tampa Bay (11/2/08), while RB Kolby Smith had 150 yards vs. Oakland (11/25/07). Charles is coming off a season-high 103-yard performance after tying a career-high 18 carries in a 16-10 win at Oakland (11/5). Charles recorded a career-long 44-yard TD run in that contest, KC’s longest TD run since RB Larry Johnson had a 49-yard score vs. Cincinnati (1/1/06).

Steelers RB Rashard Mendenhall owns a pair of 100-yard performances this season, including a 165-yard, two-TD outing in a 38-28 win vs. San Diego (10/4). The Steelers have allowed two rushing TDs, a mark that ties with Minnesota as the lowest in the NFL. Pittsburgh is 37-3 (.925) when producing a 100-yard rusher dating back to 2004, including eight straight wins.

Third-Down, Other Stats in the Kansas City-Pittsburgh Matchup
KC’s defense is fourth in the league, forcing three and outs at a 29.5% clip (33 on 112 possessions). Only Houston (34.9), NYJ (33.0) and MIN (30.8) are better. PIT’s offense is tied for 12th in the league with a 41.7 conversion rate on third down. PIT’s defense is 24th on third down at 40.8%. PIT ranks in the NFL’s top 10 in both total offense (ninth - 364.7 ypg) and total defense (second - 277.4 ypg). PIT is ninth in the NFL with 32 completions of 20+ yards.