Early turnovers help Steelers sink sloppy Chiefs

Todd Bowles & Co. should be afraid.

Play of the day: Midway through the first quarter with Pittsburgh already leading 14-0, Cam Heyward pushed the contest into “laugher” territory with as good an individual effort as you’ll see in the National Football League, fighting off a tackle and a chipping linebacker to destroy a Chiefs screen play, tipping an interception to Jarvis Jones, whose (hilarious) return to the Chiefs 5 set up Pittsburgh’s third touchdown, a lead from which they never looked back. The math is ugly. Coming off a thoroughly strong display of defense, the Steelers D/ST will be worthy of streaming consideration next weekend when they’ll get a home matchup against the turnover-prone New York Jets.

Short and to the point captured Chiefs coach Andy Reid’s post-game press conference after his team suffered a 43-14 shellacking at the hands of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

But the Chiefs were steamrolled 43-14, and Charles had little to do with the contest after the first few minutes.

Relax, Gang Green faithful. I just don’t see that happening with how bad this offense is playing.

The Chiefs needed Charles in uniform against the Steelers, if only as a backup.

Bowles publicly remains confident that his terrible secondary will right the ship.

Offense: F- The offense could not get the ball going after two first downs on their first drive.

Pittsburgh Steelers wide receivers Antonio Brown and Sammie Coates celebrate Brown’s touchdown during the first half of their blowout win over the Kansas City Chiefs in Pittsburgh, Sunday, Oct. 2, 2016.

He hit nine different receivers. He gained seven yards. He also caught five passes for 34 yards while also lining up occasionally as a wide receiver.

Le’Veon Bell came back for Pittsburgh. Steelers Coach Mike Tomlin said he’d toss Bell right back into the mix, and he did.

The thing is, as many viewed Dangerfield replacing Golden as a potential deficiency for other teams to exploit, his teammates didn’t view it in the same capacity.

Bell certainly looked like the running back who ran for more than 1,300 yards in 2014. The Steelers averaged a ridiculous 7.9 yards per play. Starter Spencer Ware fumbled away the Chiefs’ first snap of their second possession, leading to the Steelers’ first touchdown.

After that, Roethlisberger had three incompletions.

It wasn’t just what RB Le’Veon Bell did on Sunday night that got QB Ben Roethlisberger’s attention. Led by an underachieving and overpaid Darrelle Revis, who exited Sunday’s loss with a hamstring injury, the Jets are 26th in pass defense through the first quarter of the season. This defense has its flaws, but when turnovers are being forced and quarterbacks are under siege, they are undoubtedly a problem. The Steelers collected four sacks (three of which came from defensive end Cameron Heyward) and two takeaways after entering the game with just one sack and four takeaways. The talented defensive line has stuffed the run, but it hasn’t generated enough of a consistent pass rush to help the shaky secondary.

Heyward said he knew the defense would respond from the Philly game. So, they could actually use the old fella this weekend. Right tackle Marcus Gilbert (foot) and linebacker Jarvis Jones (ankle) left and did not return. It was also the first win this season for the Saints (1-3). The season isn’t lost yet.

The Chiefs run an offense similar to the one the Eagles used to roll up 34 points against Pittsburgh last week. And Charles said he has seen the signs on the practice field that he’s the same player he was before the injury.