Ben Roethlisberger has been in the NFL long enough to have played against many of the greats, including several quarterbacks already in the Hall of Fame and still others who will be there someday.
But with so many rookie starters on offense and just young players in general, it would be understandable if there was a certain amount of scoreboard watching going on when the Steelers (7-6-1) travel to Kansas City to face the Chiefs (10-4), Sunday, 4:25 p.m., at Arrowhead Stadium.
However, the message from Roethlisberger and the other veterans on the roster is clear. Just as you can't watch the scoreboard to see what's going on in other games around the league this time of year, you also can't get caught up in watching the scoreboard when it pertains to the Chiefs and their prolific offense.
It's not the Steelers' offense against that of the Chiefs. Those two units never set foot on the field together, so Roethlisberger will remind his young teammates of that time and again:
"For sure, which isn't always the easiest thing to do when you're watching an offense like that," Roethlisberger said Wednesday morning at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. "Taking care of the ball is obviously huge, which we didn't last week. If we can not turn it over and, even against a team like this, if you possess the ball, that helps. They can score awfully fast and do amazing things. We've just got to play our game no matter what happens."
This season, their game hasn't been all that great. The Steelers are 20.8 points per game, which will not the worst in the league, is not the best by a wide margin, either.
The Steelers' 54 combined offensive starts by rookies leads the NFL by a wide margin. And those players -- left tackle Dan Moore, center Kendrick Green, tight end Pat Freiermuth and running back Najee Harris -- have likely watched the past few years as Patrick Mahomes and company have put up prolific offensive numbers while making it to the conference championship in each of his three years as a starter while winning a Super Bowl.
"I don't feel like a rookie, but I don't feel like a vet, either," Green said Wednesday.
They've seen Mahomes throw passes from all different angles and ring up the scoreboard with long completions to wide receiver Tyreek Hill and tight end Travis Kelce.
But they also can't get caught up in that for a variety of reasons. First and foremost, these Chiefs aren't those Chiefs.
Kansas City is making more mistakes offensively than it has in the past. While last year, the Chiefs turned the ball over just 16 times, fourth-fewest in the NFL, this season their 25 turnovers are second-most in the league. As result, they are scoring about 27.4 points per game, about two less than they did a year ago.
And Mahomes already has a career-high 13 interceptions, most of which have come against non-AFC West opponents.
Mahomes has 13 touchdown passes and 4 interceptions in five games against AFC West opponents this season and has averaged 303.6 passing yards per game in those contests. He has 17 touchdown passes and 9 interceptions in nine games against non-AFC West opponents and averaged 281.6 yards passing per game.
Add in the fact that both Kelce and Hill -- who account for 50 percent of Kansas City's passing offense -- were placed on the Reserve/COVID-19 List earlier this week, putting their status in doubt for Sunday's game, and things take on a different perspective.
But things all start with Mahomes, regardless of who is available and who isn't.
"He's unbelievably talented. He's big-time competitive. He's got arm talent. He's got leg talent. He's got football intellect," Mike Tomlin said. "He's extremely difficult to trick."
What the Steelers cannot afford, however, is another of their slow starts. They've been outscored 91-19 in the first half of their past five games, including 71-13 in the first two quarters of their past three road games.
Doing that in this game, against this offense -- regardless of who is or isn't playing -- would be a killer.
Then again, Roethlisberger has liked what he's seen of his young offense, even when it has fallen behind, such as the 13-3 halftime hole they dug out of in last week's 19-13 win over the Titans.
"We may not being be doing well early, but no one ever panics," Roethlisberger said. "It's like, 'Let's find a way to get back into it.' Whether it's play calling or plays, guys aren't really stressing, which shows a lot of growth for a young team. We just have to find a way to get in the end zone. We can't beat ourselves with penalties or negative plays. That's a big key to score early."
And even if it's as ugly as things were last week, when the Steelers scored 12 points off four Tennessee turnovers and managed just 168 total yards of offense, that's not what matters.
"We've had great offensive games where we lost," Roethlisberger said. "We've had bad offensive games and won. Winning is all that matters."
PITTSBURGH STEELERS
THE INJURY REPORT
Cornerback Joe Haden was held out of practice, nothing serious, just the coaches' decision. Freiermuth did not practice due to being in concussion protocol. Defensive end Chris Wormley has a groin injury that held him out of action today.