Steelers vs. Chiefs: What's the Game Plan for Pittsburgh?

Even with a first-time starter at quarterback and left tackle heading into Sunday's showdown with the Kansas City Chiefs, the Pittsburgh Steelers are feeling confident going into Arrowhead Stadium with Landry Jones and Alejandro Villanueva.

Jones, who is in his third year with the Steelers, showed the ability to move the ball through the air in Week 6 against the Arizona Cardinals after coming in to relieve the injured Mike Vick.

While star quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is getting closer to returning to the starting lineup, Pittsburgh should feel much more comfortable with the former Oklahoma Sooners signal-caller under center against the Chiefs.

Although Jones won't light it up through the air, he is very familiar with the playbook, which allows offensive coordinator Todd Haley to open things up for the high-powered Steelers offense moving forward.

Despite being able to open up the playbook with Jones under center, don't expect Haley to dial up more than 25 passes against the Chiefs, especially with a first-time starter in Villanueva at left tackle drawing the tough task of trying to block Justin Houston and Tamba Hali in pass protection.

Le'Veon Bell and the Steelers running game has to take pressure off Jones and Villanueva in this one by establishing a productive ground game early and often against the 12th-best rushing defense in the NFL. The Steelers defense will once again have to come up big in this one as well.

Kansas City isn't an explosive offense with Alex Smith under center and without star running back Jamaal Charles, who was lost for the year two weeks ago with a torn ACL.

The Chiefs are big on throwing swing routes out of the backfield, drag routes, quick slats and short crossing routes, so they aren't much of a threat to take a shot deep, mainly due to their inability to protect Smith long enough.

Coming into Sunday's game, the Chiefs have allowed the third-most sacks in the NFL behind the Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers.

The Steelers will most likely play in their nickel defense a lot against Kansas City due to the loss of Stephon Tuitt to a knee injury and the inability of the Chiefs to be much of a threat on the ground without Charles.

Kansas City will likely deploy two tight ends a lot, with Travis Kelce and James O'Shaughnessy serving as threats in the passing game wherever they line up.

Jeremy Maclin is expected to play Sunday, so that's definitely a big boost for the sputtering Chiefs lineup, but how he's utilized coming off a concussion will be interesting to watch throughout the game.

It's pretty clear how the Steelers can beat the Chiefs in Arrowhead with Jones under center: Pound the rock to set up play-action passes down the field, and get after Smith earlier and often to force some turnovers. With the way the Chiefs line has played all year, pressure should be the easy part for the Steelers.

Offensive Game Plan

For the third time in 2015 the Steelers are set to start a different QB under center. Despite the turnstile at quarterback due to injuries, the Steelers are sitting pretty in the AFC North at 4-2, just two games back of the Cincinnati Bengals.

A lot of the success without Roethlisberger has come largely due to the young defense that has played above expectations through the first six weeks. But last week it was Jones and Martavis Bryant supplying the Steelers offense with a shot in the arm, leading them to an improbable come-from-behind win over the Arizona Cardinals.

Although the Kansas City Chiefs aren't the Cardinals, the Steelers offense will once again have to do enough in their Week 7 matchup with a tough Kansas City defense to put them in a position to win.

That starts with Bell and the Pittsburgh rushing attack. While Kansas City allows slightly more than 96 yards per game on the ground to opponents, the Steelers are one of the top rushing units in the NFL thanks to a powerful offensive line led by guard David DeCastro.

However, Pittsburgh lost starting left tackle Kelvin Beachum to a torn ACL last week, so former Army Ranger Villanueva will make his first career start.

With Villanueva still learning the nuances of the position, expect the Steelers to give him help in the passing game. In the running game, he should be fine blocking guys in front of him with his long reach and powerful frame.

Pittsburgh will need to give Bell creases to work with Sunday, allowing him to showcase his patience and vision once again.

Outside of the running game, Jones will have to utilize his weapons in Antonio Brown and Bryant.

Jones and Bryant showed great chemistry in the second half against Arizona, so there's no reason to think that won't continue this week. However, the top priority has to be getting Brown going once again.

The All-Pro receiver has let his frustrations show without Roethlisberger under center, but Jones did connect with Brown twice in the second half against the Cardinals, so Brown should see his numbers climb back to respectability.

But make no mistake, the Steelers have to establish dominance on the ground against Kansas City to open up the rest of the offense. Without a strong running game against the Chiefs, asking Jones to air it out to win could be asking too much for the first-time starter against a strong secondary.

Defensive Game Plan

There should be one goal, and one goal only, for the Steelers defense heading into Arrowhead Stadium, Sunday: Get to Smith as much as possible.

Kansas City has allowed 24 sacks (third-worst in NFL), so the Steelers front seven, which has racked up 17 sacks through six weeks, should have a good game.

Jarvis Jones and Ryan Shazier are probable for Sunday's game, so the Steelers will get some athletic linebackers back against a Chiefs offensive line that has been one of the worst in football through six weeks.

Add in the speed of Bud Dupree and Arthur Moats to counter the sheer power of James Harrison and defensive end Cameron Heyward and it's not looking good for Smith and the passing game.

While the Chiefs do have a significant weapon in Kelce at tight end, Kansas City hasn't done a good job of utilizing his talents enough in the past few weeks without Charles.

That could change against the Steelers, who struggle to cover tight ends. Luckily for Pittsburgh, Kelce is the main weapon for the Chiefs, so he should see added attention throughout the game.

As far as the Chiefs running game goes, Kansas City runs a zone-blocking scheme, which the Steelers are quite familiar with.

Not having Charles to go against is a huge break for Pittsburgh, so shutting down the Chiefs running game shouldn't be too difficult with Charcandrik West and Knile Davis in the backfield for this one.

Bringing pressure and disrupting the Chiefs zone-blocking scheme will effectively shut down the Chiefs lackluster offense.

Key Matchups

Alejandro Villanueva vs. Justin Houston and Tamba Hali

The big storyline for the Steelers in this one is Villanueva making his first career start. It won't be easy for the former West Point star, who will draw the tough task of trying to slow down Houston and Hali coming off the edge.

Although Hali is questionable to play in this one due to a knee injury, Houston alone will be too much to handle for the mammoth left tackle.

Villanueva's strength is in the running game, where he can get moving downhill to pummel a defender. He's relatively untested in the passing game, so this will be a big step in his development going against one of the top three pass-rushers in all of football.

Antonio Brown and Martavis Bryant vs. Marcus Peters and Sean Smith

Bryant returned in a big way last week against the Cardinals, scoring two huge touchdowns for the Steelers.

How he fares against the Chiefs secondary will go a long way toward determining how well the Steelers offense does through the air.

Along with Bryant, Brown will have to create separation against the Chiefs, allowing Jones to make easy throws to one of the best receivers in football. If Byrant and Brown can create plays through the air, it will open up room for the Steelers running game to operate.

Eric Fisher vs. Bud Dupree

Fisher was the No. 1 pick just three years ago, but he's a borderline bust at this point in his career.

He'll have to deal with Dupree all day long. The rookie out of Kentucky has an impressive first step off the edge and converts speed to power quickly.

Fisher will have his hands full with Dupree, Sunday.

Matchup X-Factor

Bud Dupree

When watching film of the Kansas City Chiefs, the offensive line stands out as the weakest link on the team. They've allowed 24 sacks of Alex Smith through six weeks.

Unfortunately for Smith and the Chiefs, the Steelers head into Week 7 sitting tied for sixth in the NFL with 17 sacks.

On film, the Chiefs' tackles, namely Eric Fisher, struggle with speed off the edges. That plays right into the hands of Dupree, who has an impressive first step at the snap that allows him to win the edge on some snaps before the tackle even has a chance to get out of his stance.

Sunday in Kansas City could be a coming-out party for the rookie out of Kentucky.

Prediction: Steelers 22, Chiefs 13

With two strong defenses, this matchup has the makings of a defensive struggle.

While Kansas City's strength is its secondary, led by rookie Marcus Peters and safety Eric Berry, the Steelers won't try to air it out against the Chiefs despite Landry Jones showing the ability to move the offense through the air.

Pittsburgh will likely try to pound the ball with Bell, especially with Jones making his first professional start.

As Pittsburgh looks to control the ball with the running game and extended handoffs through the air to Brown and Bryant, the Steelers will lean on the productive defense, which should force multiple turnovers thanks to an impressive pass rush that will flummox Alex Smith and the Chiefs offense.

Bell racks up 100 rushing yards and two touchdowns on the ground, while the defense adds a touchdown on an interception return.

Rookie linebacker Dupree records multiple sacks to help Jones guide the Steelers to a win in his first professional start.

Prediction: Steelers 22, Chiefs 13