Steelers Vs. Chiefs: NFL Week 12 Facts and Figures For Tradition Rich AFC Squads

After two long weeks of waiting, Steeler Nation will get its next chance to cheer on the six-time Super Bowl champions Sunday night when they take on the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Field. With the Baltimore Ravens having won on Thanksgiving, the Steelers (7-3) must win to keep pace in the AFC North. We'll see what happens with the Patriots and Texans -- both also 7-3 -- but at worst, the Steelers will still be the No. 6 overall seed by the end of the week. Really though, a loss against the Chiefs -- even on the road -- would be a tough, tough result to swallow. The Chiefs are not a very good football team, quite simply. They have four wins, but one came on a Philip Rivers botched snap, and two others were the product of big comebacks against two suspect teams, the Vikings and Colts.

Despite never having been in the same division, the Steelers and Chiefs have a fairly rich history, having played 26 times or basically once every two and a half years or so since the merger. Pittsburgh certainly has fared much better than the Chiefs this past decade, but it's Kansas City who's had the edge recently, having won three of the past five, most recently in 2009. Let's take a look at the two teams' series history, the game and broadcast information, a sampling of stats for both squads, and a few facts and figures about both teams.

SERIES

STATS

NOTES

STEELERS:  

• Club has 13-9 (.591) record after bye, including three straight in '08-'10.
  
• Steelers are 9-5 (.643) at KC.
• In 2 career games vs. Chiefs, QB Ben Roethlisberger has completed 48 of 61 passes (78.7 pct.) for 636 yards with 5 TDs vs. 2 INTs & 123.8 passer rating. In past 6, Steelers are 5-1 & Roethlisberger has 13 TDs vs. 4 INTs & 101.4 passer rating.
• RB Rashard Mendenhall has 3 rush TDs in past 2 games. Mendenhall (2,956) needs 44 rush yards to reach 3,000 career.
• WR Mike Wallace (922) needs 78 rec. yards to reach 1,000 for 2nd consecutive season (1,257 in '10). 
• WR Hines Ward has reached 100+ rec. yards in 2 of past 3 vs. KC (146, 128).
  
• WR Jerricho Cotchery posted 1st TD of season last game.
• TE Heath Miller had 7 catches for 95 yards with TD in last game vs. KC.
• LB LaMarr Woodley (48) needs 2 sacks to become 6th player in franchise history with 50 career sacks. Woodley had 2 sacks in last game vs. KC.
• CB William Gay posted 1st INT of season last game.
• LB James Harrison has 5 sacks in 5 games in '11.

CHIEFS:

•  PA native, QB Tyler Palko attended University of Pit.
• In 2 career games vs. Steelers, RB Thomas Jones averages 94.5 rush yards per game (189 total).
  
• In past 3, RB Dexter McCluster is averaging 5.2 rush yards per carry (23 att., 120 yards).
• WR Dwayne Bowe tied season-best with 7 catches last week.
  
• WR Steve Breaston leads Chiefs in rec. (17) & receiving yards (221) in Nov. Breaston had 6 catches for 71 receiving yards in SB XLIII vs. Pit. (w/ Cardinals).
  
• Rookie WR Jonathan Baldwin (1st round, No. 26) attended Univ. of Pit. & is Aliquippa, PA native.
• TE Leonard Pope had TD catch in last meeting against Steelers.
• LB Derrick Johnson leads Chiefs with 83 tackles.
• LB Tamba Hali has 7 of KC's 12 sacks this season. Hali (7) needs 3 sacks to join Mike Bell, Neil Smith and Hall of Famer Derrick Thomas as only players with double-digit sacks in back-to-back seasons in Chiefs history.
  

For more on the Chiefs, visit Arrowhead Pride.