Chiefs upset Steelers with FG in overtime, 27-24; Pittsburgh QB Roethlisberger hurt

KC beats Steelers in OT 27-24; Roethlisberger hurt

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — When the last player drafted in 2009 trotted onto the field, the best team of 2008 was doomed.

Ryan Succop kicked a 22-yard field goal with 8:28 left in overtime Sunday after Chris Chambers’ 61-yard catch-and-run, and the Kansas City Chiefs snapped a team-record 10-game home losing streak with a 27-24 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The Super Bowl champs, with Charlie Batch replacing a shaken-up Ben Roethlisberger in overtime, had to punt on their first possession in OT. Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said Roethlisberger’s injury was a “concussion-oriented thing.”

The Chiefs faced third down when Matt Cassel connected with Chambers, who went 61 yards before he was pushed out of bounds at the 4.

Succop, the final player drafted in April, came in and kicked the game-winner for the Chiefs’ first home victory in more than a year. Succop also had a 27-yarder that tied it 17-all in the final seconds of the third quarter.

It was the second loss in a row for the Steelers, who have lost twice to division rival Cincinnati and were without injured Pro Bowl safety Troy Polamalu. In regulation, the Steelers (6-4) had the ball for almost 19 minutes longer than the Chiefs (3-7) and outgained them 463-206. The Chiefs stayed in it with a 97-yard kickoff return for a touchdown and a 94-yard interception return.

Roethlisberger, who wobbled off the field under his own power, threw for 398 yards and three touchdowns.

Linebacker Andy Studebaker, making his first NFL start, picked off Roethlisberger’s pass 2 yards deep in the end zone in the third quarter and motored to the Steelers 8 before running back Rashard Mendenhall dragged him down. But Cassel was sacked twice in the next three plays, and the Chiefs had to settle for Succop’s 27-yarder.

Roethlisberger’s 8-yard touchdown pass to Mendenhall gave the Steelers a 24-17 lead a few minutes later after the Steelers recovered Cassel’s turnover at the 27.

But back came KC, playing without suspended wide receiver Dwayne Bowe. Cassel hit Lance Long for 30 yards and Chambers for 47 to set up a 2-yard TD pass to Charles that tied it 24-all with a little under 5 minutes left.

Cassel had a horrendous first half, passing for only 35 yards on four completions. But he came through in the final two quarters and overtime, finishing with 248 yards and two touchdowns.

Cassel also had a 21-yard TD pass to Leonard Pope early in the third quarter.

Charles, who got the Chiefs’ first rushing touchdown of the year the week before, got their first kickoff return for a TD in four years. He took the opening kickoff at the 3, started left and then veered right and was hardly touched, bringing back bad memories for the thousands of Steelers fans waving yellow flags in the Chiefs’ stadium. It was the fourth time in five games Pittsburgh yielded a kickoff return for a touchdown.

Hines Ward and Heath Miller each had big days during Roethlisberger’s team-record fourth 300-yard passing game of the season. Ward had 10 catches for 128 yards, including an 8-yard touchdown that put the Steelers on top 10-7 with 5:32 left in the first half. Roethlisberger moved nimbly away from pressure and found Ward standing flat-footed in the back of the end zone motioning for the ball.

Miller had seven catches for 95 yards and a 10-yard TD that gave the Steelers a 17-7 halftime lead.