Good afternoon,
Rainy and cold in Kansas City but right now, not an ice problem. In fact, they probably could have kicked off at 1 p.m. as scheduled with no trouble because the highways were mostly wet.
Anyway, NBC-TV expects a much larger audience with the shift to tonight, so look for the NFL to actually schedule a game in this round for Sunday night next year. It won’t matter to them if it is unfair to the Sunday night teams.
Let’s say the Steelers beat the Chiefs. Their charter won’t get back to Pittsburgh until about 3:30 a.m. With a 1 p.m. start, they expected to return by 8. That practically costs them a full night of work by the coaches, not to mention some sleep, especially for the players. The Patriots, meantime, have a full day advantage, plus they will play the AFC championship at home.
The NFL was even considering moving this game to Monday night. Then what? Move the AFC title game to the following Monday? It could be done because the Super Bowl doesn’t happen for two weeks, but I would be the title game would have stayed put on Sunday and the big too bad to the team that played Monday.
Whatever, that’s the way it is. But if the NFL wants to schedule a Sunday night divisional playoff game next season, they should have the other game from the same conference that same day. They can flip-flop each year, NFC on Saturday and AFC on Sunday one year and then vice versa. That won’t happen either because TV will rule.
On with tonight’s prediction.
The Steelers have the best quarterback, best running back, best receiver, best offensive line and, in my opinion, best defense. So why do they remain 2 ½ point favorites and why is everyone on ESPN picking the Chiefs? Maybe it is because Ben Roethlisberger has not played well on the road recently and the Chiefs are, as Mike Tomlin called them, ball hawks. If Ben tosses three interceptions, yes, the Chiefs will win. That is why Mike Tomlin said early in his press conference Tuesday that the most important thing for the Steelers is to protect the football.
I think they will. Le’Veon Bell does not fumble, the Steelers are on a roll and they have won their past four games on the road, including that winning drive by Roethlisberger in Cincinnati.
Let’s say, Steelers 24-20 and they will be on to Foxboro.
First Published: January 15, 2017, 10:09 p.m.
