January 6, 2007

Chiefs have a guide in Steelers’ road map
As the No. 6 seed, KC might find the way by looking at last year’s championship run.

By J. BRADY McCOLLOUGH
The Kansas City Star

The AFC championship game had just ended, and the Pittsburgh Steelers were well-aware that they had just made history.

Above them, the hometown fans of the Denver Broncos filed out quietly, shocked by Pittsburgh’s third road victory of the playoffs. The Steelers, however, still had something to say, as if they didn’t do enough talking on the field in Cincinnati, Indianapolis and Denver.

“Come on in, nonbelievers!” Steelers linebacker Larry Foote said to reporters.

“One more road game!” a teammate joked, referring to Super Bowl XL.

The Steelers, of course, would go on to win the big game against Seattle, becoming the first No. 6 seed to win it all. Only one other low seed, the 1985 New England Patriots at No. 5, had even made it to the Super Bowl.

That was the same Pittsburgh team that closed the door on last year’s Chiefs, winning their final regular-season game to keep Kansas City out of the playoffs. But by winning the Super Bowl a month later, the Steelers opened the door for this year’s Chiefs, who take the No. 6 seed into today’s first-round game against the Colts.

Yes, Kansas City, it can be done.

“When you’re the first people to do it,” Chiefs left guard Brian Waters said, “it opens everybody’s eyes. It’s like in college basketball when the small schools win and the other small schools see it. It’s the same thing here. We’ve seen another team do it before. It gives us a little bit more confidence.”

Of course, the fact still remains that only two teams in NFL history have won three road games in a row to make the Super Bowl. But it’s not as if going 13-3 with a first-round bye and home-field advantage has worked for the Chiefs in the past.

“There’s a lot of pressure on that home team,” Chiefs president/general manager Carl Peterson said. “We’ve had that here.”

So, the Chiefs are welcoming the challenge, and that’s a good start. But how can a traditionally poor road team traverse the rocky journey ahead? We’ll give you four keys that have helped low seeds in the past. If the Chiefs follow them, maybe, just maybe, you’ll be booking those flights for Miami.

1. Control the clock.

Steve Grogan, a quarterback for the ’85 Patriots, says Herm Edwards has the right idea.

“I don’t think we threw more than 15 times in any one of those three games,” Grogan said. “We pounded it down people’s throats. When you’re controlling the ball, you’re controlling the clock. The Chiefs look like they can do the same thing. If you can, you’ve got a chance to win this time of year.”

In Pittsburgh’s three victories last year, the Steelers either won the battle on time of possession or had a clear advantage in rushing yards.

The Chiefs can feel good about that. They’re 6-0 when Larry Johnson carries at least 30 times.

2. Win the turnover battle.

The Patriots’ run to Super Bowl XX can really be attributed to the 13 turnovers they created in three games, including six at Miami in the AFC title game.

At Denver last year, the Steelers created four.

It’s a matter of limiting possessions for the opposing team. In an average game, an offense will get 10 to 12 possessions. Edwards expects Indianapolis to get that, but if the Chiefs can steal a couple, it will give them a huge advantage — especially if they’re able to run the clock.

3. Embrace the road.

If you fear the road, you’ll have no chance. The Chiefs have to rally around the road atmosphere. They’re 3-5 this year away from Arrowhead, which, compared with past seasons is actually decent. Waters believes the Chiefs have changed their culture.

Grogan says playing away from home helped the Patriots in a weird way.

“We didn’t have a lot of the distractions of being home,” Grogan said. “We were on the road for three weeks, spending time together, thinking about nothing but football. I think that had a lot to do with our success.”

4. Build on the season.

The championship Steelers, of course, won their last four regular-season games and finished 11-5. And the 1985 Patriots won nine of their last 11, also posting an 11-5 record. The Chiefs don’t have the same kind of momentum, but they did win their final two games and — as they continue to point out — none of the other contenders did that.

The Steelers played the respect card often last year, but because of the way they finished the season, they believed they could win it all.

“For them, it was about entering the postseason with a bunch of wins in a row,” says Mark Madden of Pittsburgh’s ESPN Radio 1250, “each of which came with their playoff lives up for grabs.”

The Chiefs did that the last two weeks, but it’s going to take more.

“It takes,” Peterson said, “in three consecutive weeks, to play up to a level that I’m sure some of these guys don’t even think they’re capable of playing.”

To reach J. Brady McCollough, send e-mail to jmccollough@kcstar.com

J. Brady McCollough - jbrady@coveringsports.com (email) - 816-868-2621 (cell)