PRO FOOTBALL : Chiefs Down, So Steelers Kick ‘Em : Anderson’s Second-Chance Field Goal Decides It, 17-16

Given a second chance, Gary Anderson didn’t let it slip away.

Anderson, who missed a 41-yard field-goal attempt minutes earlier, kicked a 45-yarder with 4:02 left Sunday to lift the Pittsburgh Steelers to a 17-16 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs.

“It’s easy to kick when things go well, but when you miss one with the game on the line and then have another chance, that’s the ultimate test,” Anderson said. “I was just happy to have another shot. The first one I hit solid, it just sailed a little right. (The second one) was from the same spot on the right hash mark, so I knew exactly what it would do.

“My teammates gave me a lot of support. You just have to keep presence of mind. You have a tendency to hit the next one a little tentatively. But I really nailed it.”

Anderson was wide right on a 41-yarder with 5:32 left and the Chiefs (1-7) holding a 16-14 lead. But after the Steelers (5-3) recovered Christian Okoye’s fumble, Anderson’s second kick sent the Chiefs to a team record-tying seventh straight loss. The Chiefs also lost seven straight in 1985.

Kansas City has not won since a late kickoff return by rookie Paul Palmer in the season opener allowed the Chiefs to beat San Diego.

It was a fumble by Okoye, a 250-pound rookie running back from Azusa Pacific, that led to Chicago’s fourth-quarter touchdown in a 31-28 victory over the Chiefs last week.

“We’re just a team that is starved for victory right now,” Chief center Rick Donnalley said. “We feel like we’re getting better. But until it translates into results on the scoreboard, who cares?”

The Steelers gouged the Kansas City defense for 250 rushing yards, with Earnest Jackson getting 125 and Walter Abercrombie 98.

“That surprised me,” said Coach Frank Gansz, who gave the Chiefs a chewing-out in the locker room. “We cannot, with our young team, turn the ball over at this time and win.

“They all are hard to come back from. So what? This is a tough business. But every loss can help us if we have the right attitude and come back with confidence.”

Nick Lowery’s third field goal, from 38 yards, with 10:36 left gave the Chiefs a 16-14 lead, but it didn’t stand up.

The Chiefs, making their first home appearance since Sept. 13, grabbed a 7-0 lead 1:15 into the game when linebacker Jack Del Rio forced quarterback Mark Malone to fumble. Tackle Bill Maas fell on the ball on the six-yard line, got up and lumbered into the end zone for a touchdown.

For the second straight game against the Steelers, Kansas City didn’t get a point from its offense, only last time the Chiefs won. Kansas City’s defense and special teams scored every point last December in a playoff-clinching 24-19 victory at Pittsburgh.

After Maas’ touchdown, Pittsburgh’s Rodney Carter caught a four-yard scoring pass from Malone to tie the score, 7-7, later in the quarter, but Lowery gave the Chiefs a 10-7 halftime lead by kicking a 41-yarder.

Carter’s 26-yard touchdown catch gave the Steelers a 14-10 lead with 9:55 left in the third period. Lowery’s 27-yarder, following a Kansas City interception, trimmed Pittsburgh’s lead to 14-13 early in the fourth period.

Kenney, a week after throwing four touchdown passes against Chicago, hurt himself with two critical interceptions. Thomas Everett stole an underthrown Kenney pass on the Pittsburgh nine-yard line and Dwayne Woodruff intercepted another on the Pittsburgh three.