Mike Tomlin says the Steelers got 'smashed' the last time they were at Arrowhead

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The Steelers will return to Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday night to face the Chiefs in the wild-card round game. Nearly three weeks ago, the Steelers got blown out, 36-10, by Kansas City at Arrowhead.

Mike Tomlin sees this time around as a reboot and says the Week 16 results will not hinder them.

"They smashed us so definitively, more than anything it's like a reboot," Tomlin said on Tuesday during his weekly press conference.

"We have big time challenges in terms of preparing for Kansas City. We've been to Kansas City very recently. They handled us and handled us definitively. We understand that. But at the same time, we're not paralyzed by that.

The Steelers were -3 in the turnover differential margin against the Chiefs in Week 16. The Chiefs scored 17 points off the three turnovers.

"We accept that we didn't play well enough last time," Tomlin said. "We accept that we didn't plan well enough last time. But that's last time. We're excited about the process of readiness this time. Putting together a better plan. Putting our guys in position to make more consistent plays, particularly in the weighty moments, situational ball and going in and playing.

"We realize where we are in terms of the scarcity of these opportunities. We're just living in the moment. I'm really excited about doing so. But we better get ready physically. We better get ready mentally, emotionally, because it's going to take all of us."

According to Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Chiefs have scored at least 31 points nine times this season. The Steelers have scored 19 or fewer points nine times. The only time the Steelers scored 30 points or more was when they scored 27 in the fourth quarter in a 41-37 loss to the Chargers.

If the Steelers start slow like they have been all season and lose the turnover battle drastically, the Chiefs will run away with the game on Sunday night just like they did three weeks earlier. The Steelers have to play a near-perfect game to upset Kansas City, or at the very least make the game respectable. The Chiefs are currently 12.5-point favorites against the Steelers.