The Pittsburgh Steelers (9-7-1) careened into the playoffs thanks to a number of happy coincidences. That started back in Week 1, when they took on the Bills in Buffalo and beat a team that was not ready to start the regular season, making mistakes on offense and special teams. That continued all the way to Week 18, when they needed the hapless Jacksonville Jaguars to beat the Indianapolis Colts – and the Jags pulled off the upset. They then needed to beat the Baltimore Ravens on the road, and they prevailed in overtime, actually sweeping the season series. Finally, they needed either the Chargers or the Raiders to win in their game (a tie would have left the Steelers out), and the Raiders ended up winning with a rare third field goal in one overtime period. Their postseason begins in Kansas City against the Chiefs (12-5), who struggled mightily the first third of the season but have since rebounded and enter the playoffs as one of the sports betting favorites to win Super Bowl LVI.
Let’s take a closer look at their meeting on Sunday night.
NFL Wild Card Preview (Sunday, January 16) | Pittsburgh Steelers at Kansas City Chiefs
When: Sunday, January 16, 2022, 8:15 pm ET
Where: Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City
TV: NBC
Radio: Westwood One
Live Stream: Hulu
NFL Odds: Kansas City -12.5 / O/U 46 // Kansas City -800 / Pittsburgh +550
Why should you bet on the Steelers?
Pittsburgh followed up that Week 1 victory in Buffalo with three straight losses, but then they went 8-4-1 down the stretch. That tie came against the woeful Detroit Lions, but their ability to pick up tough wins against the likes of Cleveland and Baltimore in their own division helped them scrape together just enough victories to get to the postseason. In their last four games, Pittsburgh beat Cleveland, Baltimore and Tennessee.
In their Week 18 win over Baltimore, Pittsburgh came back with a fourth-quarter touchdown to push the game to an extra frame. Ben Roethlisberger likely played his last regular season contest and put up solid numbers, throwing for 244 yards and a touchdown (as well as an interception). Roethlisberger’s attitude coming into this postseason game is one that will help his team; he has said that the huge point spread really takes the pressure off the Steelers, who should just “have fun” in the wild card game and see how things turn out. That sort of approach has helped many big underdogs in the past not only cover but come away with shocking straight up upsets.
Why should you put your money on the Chiefs?
Kansas City also got off to a slow start, dropping four of their first seven games. After that, though, they only lost one more, winning nine of their last ten, with the only setback coming in Cincinnati against a team desperately looking to stack up wins to win the AFC North. Along the way, Kansas City has beaten four playoff teams (Green Bay, Dallas, Pittsburgh and Las Vegas twice).
In Week 18, the Broncos faced the Denver Broncos and got a tough greeting from the Broncos on both sides of the ball. Denver actually led, 21-17, going into the fourth quarter, but then the Chiefs got a defensive touchdown via a fumble return and ended up winning, 28-24. Patrick Mahomes threw for 270 yards and a pair of scores, and Mecole Hardman was his top target, with eight receptions for 103 yards. The Chiefs may have been caught looking ahead from Week 18, but they ended up taking care of business.
Final Score and Betting Prediction
Pittsburgh has covered in four of their last five against AFC competition, but the exception came in their road loss to Kansas City. In their last five wild card games, they have just covered once – and that didn’t happen last year, when the Steelers hosted Cleveland and fell behind by 28 at the end of the first period. The Chiefs have covered four straight at home and four of their last five games against teams with records above .500. Even so, I see Pittsburgh keeping this game closer than this huge point spread, thanks to their solid running game and their physical defense. I predict a final score of Kansas City 30, Pittsburgh 23.
Pittsburgh Steelers at Kansas City Chiefs: Bet the Game Today
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