PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – The Steelers have obvious warts, they relied on other teams just to make the playoffs. Kansas City head coach Andy Reid said this about the Steelers on Wednesday.
“These guys are playing like a number one seed right now,” Reid said on a conference call.
Tennessee is the top seed and getting Derrick Henry back. Reid’s own team has won nine of 10 and stomped the Steelers just a few weeks ago.
“You have to erase that game and move forward,” Reid said of the 36-10 win on December 26. “In this league we’ve all had games where things aren’t working right and the other team, it does work right. If you have a chance to play that team again, you got to start from scratch.”
“You got to play four quarters of football against the Pittsburgh Steelers, that’s what you have to do. If you let up, shame on us. Whatever your mindset is you better get ready for four hard quarters of football. That’s traditional Pittsburgh Steelers football, it’s important that we prepare ourselves that way.”
Reid said Ben Roethlisberger ‘is one of the best in football this year’. The nine-year Chiefs head coach says Ben has the aptitude and the ability to still get it done. Then he noted they didn’t face the real TJ Watt in the first game.
“I think he had broken ribs I think,” Reid said. “We were getting everything he had at the time. Just to be able to play was a warrior move, a lot of people wouldn’t play. We know he’s a great player. We know we got to do a great job against him or he wreaks havoc.”
Reid also praised linebacker Alex Highsmith and said you can’t blink on the other players. He said Cam Heyward is a beast and he and Highsmith are playing great football.
He’s also a fan of the Steelers head coach saying Mike Tomlin is like Bill Cowher in that they are Pittsburgh Steelers. They fit the mold of the city, the philosophy of the organization and everything else.
“He’s smart and he’s honest,” Reid said of Tomlin. “He tells people the truth, right or wrong. That’s why he has so much respect around the league. Why he’s on the competition committee. He’s a smart kid. I think the honest thing goes a long way, it covers a lot of bases.”
How honest Reid is being could be in question. From the top, Reid he’s facing a team playing like a number one seed on Sunday.