Steelers get bounce-back win by dominating Chiefs

Maybe it was the pregame pep talk from Hall of Fame linebacker Kevin Greene. Maybe it was the return of Le'Veon Bell. Or maybe it was the chance to show that last weekend's performance was an aberration.

Whatever the reason, the Steelers found redemption Sunday night, rebounding from the most lopsided loss in Mike Tomlin's tenure with one of their most complete performances in recent memory.

Ben Roethlisberger threw five touchdown passes — he entered the game with six — and the ready-for-prime-time Steelers whipped the Kansas City Chiefs, 43-14, before a nationwide TV audience and 61,278 at Heinz Field.

Coming on the heels of a 34-3 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, it was a 70-point margin swing for the Steelers.

“I told the guys before the game that we're driving a car and we don't have a rearview mirror,” Roethlisberger said, referring to the Eagles debacle. “We're not looking back.”

At 3-1, the Steelers are tied with the Baltimore Ravens atop the AFC North, one game ahead of the Cincinnati Bengals.

“Hopefully, we'll use this experience for positive fuel as we move forward,” coach Mike Tomlin said. “All three phases, I thought, put their hand in the pile and were reasons we were so successful.”

The five-touchdown game was the fifth of Roethlisberger's career, a feat accomplished by only five other NFL quarterbacks. He completed 22 of 27 passes for 300 yards and threw a pair of touchdown passes to favorite target Antonio Brown. Darrius Heyward-Bey, Jesse James and Markus Wheaton had the others.

Returning from a three-game suspension, Bell displayed no signs of rust. He had 144 yards rushing on 18 carries and caught five passes for 34 yards.

“I definitely missed it,” Bell said, “all of my teammates, obviously coming out here and getting wins. ... It kind of brought me back to last year. I just missed it.”

Bell lined up in the slot, split wide and even went in motion on one play as the Steelers made good on their promise to get him and DeAngelo Williams on the field at the same time.

“He's a weapon wherever we put him,” Roethlisberger said.

Bell's best run was a 44-yard burst on third-and-4 with the Steelers controlling the clock in the fourth quarter. The run to the Chiefs' 2-yard line set up a touchdown run by Williams that pushed the Steelers' lead to 43-7.

The Steelers also put on a defensive performance that Hall of Fame honoree Greene had to love. Before receiving his Hall of Fame ring at halftime, Greene talked to the team before kickoff.

“He said to have fun and kick butt,” defensive lineman Cameron Heyward said.

His words must have inspired.

A pass rush that was missing for much of the first three weeks generated four sacks: three from Heyward and one from Vince Williams. Williams, starting in place of the injured Ryan Shazier, had a team-high 13 solo tackles, 15 overall.

“I wouldn't really use the word ‘prove,' but we definitely knew we could play better, and we had to come out and play better,” Williams said. “We couldn't have a bad performance at home.”

Heyward also tipped a pass that led to a Jarvis Jones interception. Stephon Tuitt deflected a pass and forced a fumble that set up the Steelers' first touchdown.

“I thought we got pressure from everybody,” Heyward said. “I cleaned up the trash a lot, but guys were beating their man one-one-one. I thought we disrupted their pass game.”

For the first time this season, the Steelers didn't allow a 300-yard passer. Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith passed for 287 yards, but it took him 30 completions in 50 attempts to get there.

Thanks to a successful 2-point conversion attempt, the Steelers turned three touchdowns into a 22-point first quarter, a franchise record for the opening 15 minutes.

It was 29-0 at the half, a lead that was extended when Roethlisberger threw his fifth touchdown pass, a 30-yard floater to Wheaton.

Roethlisberger came out throwing, hitting Sammie Coates for a 47-yard deep pass on the Steelers' first play from scrimmage.

Before the first quarter was complete, he had three touchdown passes: two to Brown and one to Heyward-Bey. His playing time increased because of an injury to slot receiver Eli Rogers, Heyward-Bey suffered a shoulder injury in the second half and didn't return.

Roethlisberger's fourth TD pass came with 44 seconds left in the half, a 9-yarder to James in the corner of the end zone.

One week after forcing eight turnovers, the Chiefs committed two in the first quarter that the Steelers turned into touchdowns after taking possession at the Kansas City 32 and 4.

“When we give them short fields. We relish those moments because that's guaranteed points,” Heyward said. “We think we have the best offense in the league.”

First, Ross Cockrell recovered a Spencer Ware fumble, setting up Roethlisberger's 31-yard TD pass to Heyward-Bey with 7 minutes, 27 seconds left in the quarter. A 2-point conversion pass — the Steelers' first such attempt of the season — to Wheaton made it 8-0.

Four plays later, Heyward tipped a Smith pass into Jones' arms, and he returned it 20 yards to the Chiefs' 4. On the next play, Roethlisberger hit Brown across the middle for a touchdown.

The Steelers got the ball back with 2:07 left in the quarter and had good field position thanks to Dustin Colquitt's 23-yard punt. Starting at the Chiefs' 40, Roethlisberger needed two plays to find the end zone. After Bell's first carry of the game netted 2 yards, Roethlisberger spotted Brown in single coverage with backup cornerback Steven Nelson. The result was a 38-yard touchdown and 22-0 lead.

“I thought we were hungry,” Brown said. “Last week, we got blown out on the road. And anytime you get blown out, you want to respond.”

Joe Rutter is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at jrutter@tribweb.com or via Twitter @tribjoerutter.