Steelers look like AFCs best team after

Steelers look like AFCs best team after

Seven days after the were completely and utterly humiliated by the , they happily returned the favor against the on "Sunday Night Football." And while a bounce-back performance wasn't unexpected -- it's happened frequently during the and Mike Tomlin era -- the manner in which it unfolded was certainly a surprise, especially since Philadelphia and Kansas City run virtually the same offense. But there were no similarities in what and the Eagles accomplished in Week 3 and what and the Chiefs stumbled their way through at Heinz Field. The good news is that it's only one game, and the Chiefs are now on their bye week. Plus, it could always be worse -- at least they're not the . Back on Earth...1. Big Ben looked like, well, Big Ben The Eagles stymied the Steelers' high-powered offense, and the expectation was that the Chiefs would do the same. But defensive coordinator Bob Sutton, who favors rushing five or six and playing man coverage behind that, had no answer for, well, anything the Steelers' offense did in the first 40 minutes. was on this first-quarter touchdown reception:ALLLLL alone... is left wide open for the TD! NFL (@NFL) And , arguably the league's best wide receiver, faced only single coverage on the third touchdown pitch- Jason Castro Jersey and-catch of the first quarter: . left one-on-one?It's over.TD ! His second of the game! NFL (@NFL) (More on the post-touchdown celebration below.) And then there was perhaps the saddest play you'll ever see. Watch rookie defensive back totally forget that Minnesota Twins Hoodie he was in the middle of playing football as he gets turned around on this touchdown catch early in the third quarter to give the Steelers' a 36-0 lead:Are you serious?!Big Ben just threw his 5th TD. NFL (@NFL) The biggest takeaway isn't any huge indictment on the current state of the Chiefs; occasionally teams lose handily, and the Steelers are well aware of this fact after the shellacking they took in Philly. The biggest takeaway is how the Chiefs bounce back after a week off. Heading into Week 4, this defense, which was destroyed in Pittsburgh, ranked No. 4 in the league, according to ' metrics, behind only the , Eagles and -- and they were No. 1 against the pa s. So there's your silver lining, Chiefs' fans. By the way, when Big Ben gave way to backup midway through the fourth quarter, he had completed 22 of 27 pa ses for 300 yards and five (!) touchdowns. QB Ben Roethlisberger has thrown 4 or more TDs in the 1st half of a game for the 3rd time in his career: 10/26/14: 4 11/5/07: 5 Dom Rinelli (@drinelli) 2. helps the pa sing game as much as the running game Even with all their offensive weapons, the Steelers mi sed Le'Veon Bell during the first three games. He returned from suspension on Sunday and looked every bit the part of the 's best back, both carrying the ball and catching pa ses. Of course, 33-year-old DeAngelo Williams has been so good that he was the Steelers' lone back on the first two series, while Bell lined up at wide receiver. That's a wonderful luxury to have if you're offensive coordinator Todd Haley, who took full advantage of his new (old) toy. And perhaps in a fitting bit of symmetry, and long after the game had been decided, Bell slashed through the Chiefs' defense for a 44-yard gain, and two plays later, Williams waltzed into the end zone to give the Steelers a 43-7 lead.Ok, he's back, folks.Incredible run by ! NFL (@NFL) It's almost impo sible to fathom what this already-ridiculous offense would look like if wasn't suspended for the 2016 season. That said, Bryant's off-field i sues were why the Steelers drafted in the third round of the 2015 . Big Ben's first completion on Sunday went for 48 yards to Coates -- his catch of 40-plus Paul Molitor Jersey yards in four games. 3. The Steelers' defense finally decided to blitz After three weeks of watching the Steelers rush three and four players -- and managing just one sack in those games -- defensive coordinator Kevin Butler cut the dogs loose against the Chiefs. It was an interesting decision because Andy Reid's offense is a lot like Doug Pederson's in that the idea is to get the ball out of the quarterback's hand as quickly as po sible. More than that, both offenses are adept at screens, which the Eagles made abundantly clear last Sunday. By the time it was over, Smith had been sacked four times, hurried and hit on countle s other occasions, and the Chiefs had two costly first-half turnovers that resulted directly and immediately in Steelers' points. (There was a stretch where Roethlisberger had to sed three touchdowns on three consecutive completions.) That vaunted screen game? Never a factor. For fans wondering what happened to the Butler's aggre sive scheme from a season ago, they saw it in all its glory on Sunday. 4. We need some resolution on Brown's TD celebrations It happened again. Antonio Brown scored, Antonio Brown celebrated, Antonio Brown was promptly flagged. It only seems right to . We can't believe we're about to say this, but this celebration was a tamer version of Brown's gyratin' after scoring in Jose Berrios Jersey the Week 1 matchup against the . He was also flagged, and subsequently fined for his . Here's the Very Official Explanation, courtesy of the rulebook:I actually ran acro s this pa sage in the NFL bylaws today. Specifically bans "sexually suggestive" celebrations. Tom Peli sero (@TomPeli sero) In related news, last season, pa s rusher , which was an homage to Key and Peele. Wait a second, two pumps is perfectly legal -- it's only three Kirby Puckett Jersey or more pumps that will earn you a flag! This is an obvious conspiracy.That was 2 1/2 pumps! Throw the flag, Tomlin! Chris Bradford (@BCTBradford) 5. The Steelers honored Arnold PalmerA moment of silence for the late Arnold Palmer. Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) And Brown wore these shoes to pay tribute to the Latrobe native, and the man who had everything to do with making golf the sport it is today:The coolest cleats on turf. SNF on NBC (@SNFonNBC) 6. has a great story Finney, an undrafted free agent out of Kansas State, made his first NFL start against the Chiefs and was among the Steelers' best offensive linemen, according to Pro Football Focus. It's an understatement to say that when he signed with the team in May 2015, it was an emotional moment, especially since his family had long been Steelers fans. 7. Just focus on this, Chiefs fans Hopefully, this takes your mind off an otherwise forgettable evening:Cheer up, fans. Here's a photo of baby Andy Reid. SNF on NBC (@SNFonNBC) 8. Next up The Chiefs have a bye week and then travel to Oakland to face the white-hot and the . The Steelers, meanwhile, host the and , he of .

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