PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — The Pittsburgh Steelers host the Kansas City Chiefs on Christmas Day at Acrisure Stadium in a game that will help determine the AFC playoff picture.
Wednesday’s game between the two teams kicks off an early start to the NFL’s Week 17 slate and launches Netflix into the national spotlight. The streaming service will air two NFL games for the first time since its launch in April 1998.
Steelers-Chiefs is the first game of the day, followed by the Houston Texans hosting the Baltimore Ravens.
How to watch the Steelers game
The Steelers-Chiefs game is available to stream for all of Netflix’s subscribers, but the game will also air on KDKA-TV in Pittsburgh. The Associated Press reported that NFL policy states games being exclusively streamed must be on an over-the-air station in the competing teams’ markets.
KDKA-TV’s coverage of the game begins at 11 a.m. with “Dawn of a Dynasty” before a gameday edition of “Inside the Huddle” at 11:30 a.m. The “Steelers Kickoff” show begins at noon and runs until 12:45 p.m., when Netflix’s coverage of the game begins.
Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. on KDKA-TV. After the game, KDKA-TV has two hours of postgame coverage.
Will there be technical difficulties?
The NFL says it is “incredibly confident” in the streaming service’s ability to handle the Steelers-Chiefs game despite the platform’s struggles during the Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson fight last month.
The Paul vs. Tyson fight on Netflix on Nov. 15 had troubles with the video quality and interruptions during the boxing match.
Steelers-Chiefs storylines
There are plenty of things for Steelers fans to watch for during Wednesday’s game.
Steelers wide receiver George Pickens is set to return after missing the last three games due to injury. The Steelers went 1-2 with Pickens on the sideline.
Safety DeShon Elliott and defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi also carry no injury designations ahead of Wednesday. Both have been out the last two games and are much needed to help slow down Chiefs star quarterback Patrick Mahomes. Mahomes is 3-0 against the Steelers with 14 touchdowns and one interception.
But the Steelers will be without top cornerback Joey Porter Jr., who left Saturday’s game against the Ravens with a knee injury.
Steelers playoff picture
The Steelers have already clinched a playoff spot, but the seeding remains fluid as the regular season winds down.
Heading into Week 17, the Steelers are the No. 3 seed in the conference even though the black and gold are tied with the Ravens in the standings. Currently, the Steelers hold the tiebreaker due to a better conference record.
If the Steelers win out, they will be AFC North division champions.
The Steelers have lost their last five playoff games and haven’t won a postseason contest since 2016. They were last division champs in 2020.