It’s a good thing the Steelers were playing against Tyler Palko on Sunday night.
In a game that only included one touchdown and a fantastic effort by the Chiefs defense, Pittsburgh held on to win in Arrowhead 13-9 Sunday night.
Palko had the Chiefs driving late in the game before getting picked off for a third time. He also lost a fumble.
On the final Chiefs play, Dwayne Bowe raised his hand to tell Palko to throw it deep. Palko threw it deep, Bowe let up a bit, and oddly didn’t even attempt to catch the ball with Steelers defenders approaching. He seemed to withdraw before he could even get alligator arms.
That play will get a lot of attention, but it was a longshot that the Chiefs would have scored a touchdown anyhow. This was not the Steelers’ best effort, but you can’t fault a defense that forces four turnovers and only allows nine points.
The Chiefs defense was pretty spectacular too. They only allowed 57 yards on the ground to Rashard Mendenhall. Ben Roethlisberger threw for only 6.2 yards-per-attempt.
For the Steelers, this was a “get by” type of win. They had a similar victory on Sunday Night Football against the Colts on the road earlier this season. Unlike the Ravens, Pittsburgh has avoided any bad losses this season. The Steelers are still in the mix for the No. 1 seed in the AFC at 8-3.
This was a valiant try by Kansas City, but ultimately it ended any faint playoff hopes they had left. They have lost four straight games to go to 4-7 and fall three games behind the Raiders.
Palko probably won’t get another chance to start for the Chiefs with Kyle Orton in town. We doubt Bowe will wind up back with the Chiefs next year because of plays like the one that ended Sunday night’s game.
