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With the Los Angeles Chargers being knocked out of the playoffs courtesy of the Las Vegas Raiders, the Kansas City Chiefs’ first opponent of the 2022 postseason has been decided.
The Chiefs will face the Pittsburgh Steelers at Arrowhead Stadium in the wild-card round of the playoffs. The game will be played on Sunday, January 16 on Sunday Night Football on NBC.
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The Tennessee Titans finished the regular season as the No. 1 seed in the AFC, so they will begin the postseason with a bye week. The Raiders will face the Bengals at Cincinnati at 4:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, January 15 on NBC. The New England Patriots will face the Bills in Buffalo at 8:15 p.m. ET on Saturday on CBS.
As for the NFC, the Green Bay Packers finished as the No. 1 seed, so they begin the postseason with a bye week. The Philadelphia Eagles face the Buccaneers in Tampa Bay at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday on Fox. The San Francisco 49ers face the Cowboys in Dallas at 4:30 p.m. ET on Sunday on CBS and Nickelodeon. Lastly, the Arizona Cardinals face the Rams in Los Angeles on Monday, January 17 at 8:15 p.m. ET on ESPN.
KC Opens as Heavy Favorites vs. PIT
With Kansas City’s first playoff matchup now set in stone, the sportsbooks like the Chiefs’ odds to make it past the first round of the postseason. The defending AFC champions are 13-point favorites in their home game against the Steelers, according to DraftKings Sportsbook.
The heavy point differential is likely because the two teams faced each other on December 26, in a game in which the Chiefs beat the Steelers 36-10. In that game, Kansas City’s defense dominated; they forced three turnovers and only allowed quarterback Ben Roethlisberger to throw for 159 yards and one touchdown.
Meanwhile, the Chiefs’ offense looked fluid in that outing. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes completed 23-of-30 pass attempts for 258 yards and three touchdowns. With wide receiver Tyreek Hill only catching two passes for 19 yards in that game and tight end Travis Kelce being held out of the contest, Byron Pringle was the other pass catcher that stepped up to the plate. Against Pittsburgh, Pringle caught six passes for 75 yards and two touchdowns.
Fans React to Chiefs-Steelers Matchup
With the matchup now set, NFL fans took to Twitter to give their thoughts on Kansas City’s first game of the 2022 postseason.
“I mean it’s obvious the Chiefs are favorite to win the game, but games are meant to be played. Anything can happen, plus the Steelers are motivated to give Ben one more shot and we have literally nothing to lose. I know it will be a different game that the one we saw 2 weeks ago,” George wrote.
“Hey steelers fans from allll of #RaiderNation youre welcome. Now go beat the Chiefs,” @young_stud_ wrote.
“Joke all ya want They have been making clowns out of everybody all season. Steelers will get a ugly w against chiefs and a ugly w against the Titans again. you can never bet against them, no matter how much the other team is favor to win. In the end will lose to Bengals,” Carlos Camacho wrote.
“Im a chiefs fan and any given sunday. Chiefs look like mediocre so it might be close but not a blowout,” The_Unknown wrote.
“It’s no secret the Chiefs are in a better position than the #Steelers, especially offensively. More capable, more consistent, the superlatives are needless. Our offense isn’t going to reinvent the wheel in 7 short days either, our way of winning is keeping games close,” Thomas Roper wrote.
READ MORE:
- Patrick Mahomes Calls Out Chiefs’ Potential Playoff Opponents
- Andy Reid Provides Update on Travis Kelce’s Injury vs. Broncos
- Fans Blast Chiefs for Handling of Tyreek Hill’s Injury vs. Broncos