CHIEFS MUST SLOW THE BUS

No, I'm not talking about the team bus that will transport them to Arrowhead for their game against the Pittsburgh Steelers this Sunday. I'm referring to Steelers running back Jerome Bettis.

The key to defeating Pittsburgh is to make sure the wheels on the bus never get moving. The Steelers are 28-9 when Bettis goes over the 100-yard mark. Greg Robinson's defense has to put eight men in the box to stifle Pittsburgh's excellent rushing attack.

The Chiefs need to force Kordell Stewart and Pittsburgh to use a passing attack to beat them. Stewart has been his usual erratic self this season. Despite completing 61.4% of his passes, The Artist Formerly Known As Slash has yet to throw a touchdown pass. This is music to the ears of cornerbacks Ray Crockett and Eric Warfield. Both Chiefs' corners have struggled facing some of the top wide receivers in the league. But this won't be the case this weekend. Steelers' receivers Hines Ward and Plaxico Burress don't strike fear into any secondary in the NFL. Both corners should fair better this week than they did against Broncos WR Rod Smith last week.

The key for the offense this week is putting points on the board. This all starts with QB Trent Green. Green has to forget about his miserable four-interception performance last week and focus on moving the ball against a very solid defense. The Chiefs signal-caller may find that difficult without the services of WR Derrick Alexander. Alexander's Achilles injuries have apparently healed, but now he is experiencing back problems that could sideline him for this contest.

Regardless if Alexander plays or not, the offense will flow through TE Tony Gonzalez. Gonzalez has been the only consistent performer in the Al Saunders offense, and will be the key to moving the ball against the #2 rated defense in the league.