This year was supposed to be different.
Showing signs of newfound versatility and explosion on offense down the stretch, the Chiefs would have licked their chops knowing ahead of time that Pittsburgh would have been held to just field goals on Sunday.
Instead, Kansas City's offense couldn't hold up its end of the bargain in an 18-16 loss at Arrowhead Stadium, a result that sends the resilient Steelers on to New England for next week's AFC Championship Game.
So many of the emergent luminaries who lit Kansas City's phenomenal romp through the regular season operated as nothing more than blips on the radar in the biggest spot possible:
1.