KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Pittsburgh Steelers came to this Midwestern outpost and had their division title hopes smoked like so much of this city’s famous barbecue.

Playing a game they needed to win to keep pace in the AFC North, the Steelers followed a familiar script of road letdowns. They never led, trailed by 23 points at the break and were blown out by the Kansas City Chiefs, 36-10, at Arrowhead Stadium.

With two games remaining, the Steelers (7-7-1) trail the first-place Cincinnati Bengals (9-6) by one and a half games. They also are just a half-game ahead of last place Cleveland (7-8), which visits Heinz Field next Monday night.

The path to the postseason could be as the No. 7 seed, but the Steelers face an uphill climb there. In either scenario, the Steelers need to win their final two games.

“It doesn’t happen if we don’t get one,” quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said. “We have to get one win coming home. … Let’s focus on this one. That’s going to be my message.”

The Steelers finish the regular season Jan. 9 at Baltimore. After what has transpired in the past four road games, what evidence suggests the Steelers can win there?

• They trailed 27-10 in the fourth quarter at the Los Angeles Chargers.

• They faced a 31-3 halftime deficit at Cincinnati.

• They were down 23-0 at halftime and 29-0 in the third quarter at Minnesota.

• They watched the Chiefs build a 30-0 lead.

“Expecting something different and not doing anything different, that’s shame on us,” defensive captain Cameron Heyward said. “We have to play a lot better. We go into the game thinking we have a good gameplan, but if we don’t execute at a high level, you get a shellacking like you did today.”

Patrick Mahomes didn’t have top target Travis Kelce, but he still didn’t have much trouble picking apart the Steelers secondary while guiding the Chiefs to their eighth consecutive win, one that clinched the AFC West title.

Mahomes threw three touchdown passes, including two to Byron Pringle, before leaving early in the fourth quarter with the Chiefs comfortably ahead by 30 points. Behind Mahomes, the Chiefs put up 255 yards in the first half before easing up after intermission.

Roethlisberger also didn’t finish the game, giving way to backup Mason Rudolph with 2 minutes, 15 seconds to play.

Coach Mike Tomlin said he was going to pull Roethlisberger earlier but didn’t want his performance to end on a turnover. Roethlisberger lost a fumble in the fourth quarter that led to a field goal. He also was intercepted in the first, with the Chiefs riding that takeaway to a touchdown and 14-0 lead.

“It’s frustrating,” Roethlisberger said. “Obviously, we want to go down the field and put points on the board. I don’t have an answer. I’m sorry.”

For the fifth consecutive game, the Steelers didn’t score a first-half touchdown. The last time the Steelers went five games in a row without a first-half touchdown? You would have to go all the way back to 1940 when Walt Kiesling was head coach.

The Steelers have gone 28 possessions without a first-half touchdown, generating three field goals in that span. And in the past six games, the Steelers have been outscored 114-19 in the first half.

“We’re taking too long to warm up to the environment,” Tomlin said. “It’s been an issue.”

There would be no repeat of the loss at Los Angeles, when the Steelers grabbed a fourth-quarter lead, or at Minnesota, when they nearly forced overtime. The third quarter began with Diontae Johnson losing a fumble despite being untouched, and the Chiefs went 51 yards in seven plays. Mahomes’ second touchdown pass to Pringle pushed the score to 30-0.

“I think we’ve been digging deep all year to try to figure it out,” outside linebacker T.J. Watt said of the big deficits. “It seems like we’re having the same conversation. The same questions are being asked and the same answers. Something has to give here.”

Chris Boswell kicked a 34-yard field goal with 3:34 left in the third to end the Chiefs’ shutout bid. Roethlisberger threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Diontae Johnson with 2:54 to play before departing.

In the first half, Clyde Edwards-Helaire scored on a 1-yard run to end a 14-play, 73-yard drive, and he bounced off Robert Spillane after being hit in the backfield.

Six plays after Roethlisberger threw an interception on a flea-flicker, Mahomes threw a touchdown pass to Pringle. He threw another to Mecole Hardman to put the Steelers in a 23-0 deficit.

From that point, it was just a matter of how many points the Chiefs decided to score. And for the Steelers to plan a hasty exit following another road loss.

“Nobody likes losing. Nobody likes losing by 30 points,” safety Minkah Fitzpatrick said. “It happens. We have to channel our energies and focus on what we need to improve on, and that’s it.”

If the Steelers don’t improve, though, their season will end Jan. 9 at Baltimore.

“I think a lot will be said in these next two games,” Heyward said. “I know it wasn’t perfect today. I know it breaks my heart to let our fans down and to let our team down to go out like that. Man, I ain’t ready to throw in no damn towel.”

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