PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – The Pittsburgh Steelers host the Kansas City Chiefs on Christmas Day at Acrisure Stadium in a game that will determine the state of the AFC playoffs.

Wednesday’s game between the two teams marks the early start to Week 17 of the NFL and puts Netflix in the national spotlight. The streaming service will air two NFL games for the first time since its launch in April 1998.

Steelers-Chiefs is the first game of the day, followed by the Houston Texans and the Baltimore Ravens.

How to watch the Steelers game

The Steelers-Chiefs game is available to stream for all Netflix subscribers, but the game will also air on KDKA-TV in Pittsburgh. The Associated Press reported that NFL guidelines stipulate that games that are exclusively streamed must take place on an over-the-air channel in the competing teams’ markets.

KDKA-TV’s coverage of the game begins at 11 a.m. with “Dawn of a Dynasty” before a gameday edition of “Inside the Huddle” at 11:30 a.m. The “Steelers Kickoff” show begins at 12 p.m. and runs until 12:45 p.m. when Netflix coverage of the game begins.

Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. on KDKA-TV. After the game, KDKA-TV will provide two hours of postgame coverage.

Will there be technical difficulties?

The NFL says it is “incredibly confident” that the streaming service can handle the Steelers-Chiefs game despite the platform’s problems during the Jake Paul-Mike Tyson fight last month.

The Paul vs. Tyson fight on November 15th on Netflix had problems with video quality and interruptions during the boxing match.

Steelers Chiefs storylines

There are plenty of things for Steelers fans to keep in mind during Wednesday’s game.

Steelers wide receiver George Pickens is expected to return after missing the last three games due to injury. The Steelers took a 2-1 lead with Pickens on the sideline.

Safety DeShon Elliott and defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi also are not injured until Wednesday. Both have missed the last two games and are desperately needed to slow down the Chiefs’ star quarterback, Patrick Mahomes. Mahomes is 3-0 against the Steelers with 14 touchdowns and one interception.

However, the Steelers will be without top cornerback Joey Porter Jr., who left Saturday’s game against the Ravens with a knee injury.

Steelers playoff picture

The Steelers have already done it secured a playoff spotbut the seeding remains fluid as the regular season comes to a close.

Entering Week 17, the Steelers are the No. 3 seed in the conference, although the Black and Gold are tied with the Ravens in the standings. The Steelers are currently in the tiebreaker due to a better conference record.

If the Steelers win, they will become champions of the AFC North Division.

The Steelers have lost their last five playoff games and have not won a postseason contest since 2016. They most recently became division champions in 2020.