There’s no denying, things were pretty stressful after the Pittsburgh Steelers Christmas Day loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. A big part of the problem was the defense and several veteran players called out anonymous teammates after the game for not doing their jobs.

The Pittsburgh Steelers have dropped their last three games by at least 14 points. That hasn’t happened for the franchise since 1988. To say the least, the Steelers are reeling right now.

The Pittsburgh Steelers are playing their worst football of the 2024 campaign at the worst time, and that continued in a Week 17 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on Christmas Day. Here's a look at what that loss did to the Steelers in the NFL power rankings of experts going into Week 18.

The Kansas City Chiefs clinched the No. 1 seed in the AFC with a 29-10 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Christmas. Patrick Mahomes completed 29 of 38 passes for 320 yards and three touchdowns for the Chiefs. Kansas City’s 19-point margin of victory was their best of the season.

Kansas City (14-1) brings a five-game winning streak into a matchup with Pittsburgh (10-5) on Wednesday, December 25, 2024 at Acrisure Stadium. The line foretells a close game, with the Chiefs

Tight end Travis Kelce also set his own history, catching his 77th touchdown pass to set a new team record. He passed former tight end Tony Gonzalez, then paid homage to him after the play by dunking the ball over the crossbar — Gonzalez’s signature scoring celebration.