Steelers intent on creating turnovers they lacked in 1st meeting with Chiefs

The Pittsburgh Steelers will take a defense that finished last in stopping the run and No. 24 overall into the wild-card round against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday.

Of the NFL’s 14 playoffs teams, only the Chiefs, coincidentally, have allowed more yards per game than the Steelers. They finished with a No. 27 ranking.

Where the Steelers have found a renewed sense of confidence is in their ability to create turnovers. While winning three of their final four games, they created nine of their 22 total takeaways.

The Steelers had four takeaways, including three fumble recoveries, against Tennessee. They had two interceptions against Cleveland and two interceptions and a fumble recovery against Baltimore.

“Obviously, turnovers are big in changing the outcomes of games,” said cornerback Cameron Sutton, whose interception in the end zone in the fourth quarter Sunday prevented Baltimore from building on a 10-6 lead. “It’s getting critical turnovers that have given our team an opportunity to extend our season. It’s put us in situations to win.”

The only loss in that span, of course, was on the road against the Chiefs. The Steelers didn’t force any turnovers yet gave it away three times themselves in a 36-10 loss on Dec. 26 at Arrowhead Stadium.

“The biggest thing was situational,” Sutton said. “We didn’t get the results in the areas we wanted to. The big thing is getting off the field. They had long possessions and were able to move the ball and find that consistent rhythm. We have to find ways to get off the field.”

Interceptions and fumble recoveries are one way to accomplish that goal.

“We’ll come ready to play,” Sutton said. “We’re hungry, ready to go. We’re on the road in a great venue, but we’ll be ready.”

Big play Ray-Ray

Ray-Ray McCloud’s 10-yard reception on fourth-and-8 in overtime put the Steelers in field goal position, giving them a first down at the Ravens 31 with 2 minutes, 18 seconds to play. It came two plays after McCloud couldn’t come up with a low pass from Ben Roethlisberger.

“I have a next-play mentality,” McCloud said. “That’s how it happened. The next play might be the play that changes the game. That’s how I go about everything. I had to be there when it counted.”

On his first-down catch, McCloud caught the ball with his back facing the end zone. He backpedaled and fell to ensure he had enough distance for the first down.

“(Ben) put it in the right place,” McCloud said. “He gave me time to make a play on it. We got the job done. It was a great ball overall. Their defense was there, and he put it in a place only I could get it.”

Roethlisberger took pride in watching McCloud bounce back with the last of his four receptions.

“I love giving a guy an opportunity like that,” he said. “For Ray-Ray to make that play and give us a chance to win is special.”

Other side of the tie

With the Chiefs playing Saturday afternoon, they had a chance to sit back and watch the events around the NFL unfold Sunday. When Tennessee won its game, it ensured the Chiefs of the No. 2 seed, and coach Andy Reid turned his attention to scouting the Steelers when they beat the Ravens, 16-13, in overtime.

“That’s kind of the direction we headed yesterday, and then we watched the game,” Reid said, referring to the Sunday night game between Las Vegas and the Los Angeles Chargers.

Had the game ended in a 32-32 tie, the Chiefs would have drawn the Raiders in the wild-card round.

“We were down to the last two minutes going, ‘We might be playing the Raiders,’ but we did most of our focus on Pittsburgh,” Reid said. “The chances of it being a tie we felt was slim to none, but we got down there and it was something. It was quite a game.”