Steelers offensive lineman B.J. Finney grew up in Wichita, Kan., where many of his friends and family rooted for the Chiefs. It's three hours from Wichita to Kansas City, the closest NFL city.
The preferred colors in that part of Kansas are red and yellow. Except in the Finney household, where the colors were always black and gold.
Finney grew up a Steelers fan and once watched the Steelers from the stands at Arrowhead Stadium. On Sunday afternoon, he will likely start in place of injured starter Ramon Foster, who is questionable with a back injury.
Finney is hoping for a better outcome than the previous time he watched the Steelers in Kansas City as a fan. The Steelers lost in overtime, 27-24, in 2009. Finney was in high school when the Steelers outgained the Chiefs, 515-282, and still managed to lose.
"I was so mad," Finney said. "I remember them kicking a lot of field goals. Ben got hurt in the fourth quarter. (Charlie) Batch came in, and they were kicking a lot of field goals."
If Finney gets the call on Sunday, it will be his third career start. He started twice last season in place of Foster, and the Steelers offense didn't miss a beat in either game.
In his first career start against the Chiefs at Heinz Field, Finney helped pave the way for Le'Veon Bell, who rushed for 144 yards as the Steelers won in blowout fashion, 43-14. In his second career start in Buffalo, Bell rushed for 236 yards, and the Steelers won, 27-20.
"Obviously, knowing guys I played against, that's a huge help," Finney said. "Knowing those guys, they're good guys. It's a great defense. It's going to be a lot of fun."
The Steelers haven't had their entire starting five on the offensive line healthy since the opener in Cleveland. Left tackle Alejandro Villanueva and right tackle Marcus Gilbert left the Vikings game the following week with injuries, and Gilbert missed the next three games while his hamstring healed.
Gilbert is expected back Sunday, but now Foster likely will miss. Not that center Maurkice Pouncey and his linemates are deterred. They've been through this many times over the years.
"It's football, man," Pouncey said. "We understand injuries happen. B.J. stepped in the last time we played Kansas City at (Heinz Field). He started the entire game. He's a really good player. He's so committed to it. He's really locked into all the plays and everything. The guys have a lot of trust in him."
As a backup, Finney is used to being thrust into difficult situations. He played most of the game last season against the Eagles in Philadelphia after Foster was injured. He also played most the game against the Ravens in Baltimore last season at center after Pouncey left the game with an injury.
Those situations are much more difficult than starting a game. Foster did not practice all week, and Finney took all of the reps with the first-team offense.
"That's the great thing about having a lot of reps, you're comfortable," he said. "You know the techniques of the guys around you. I've been in other situations where you're just being thrown into it and here you go. It is nice being in the game plan, the smaller and finer details of everything."
Finney is expecting about 80 family members and friends to be in attendance Sunday. He promises everyone he bought tickets for will be adorned in Steelers gear. They'll be rooting for a similar outcome to the last time the Steelers played the Chiefs at Arrowhead.
In January, the Steelers beat the Chiefs, 18-16, in an AFC divisional-round playoff game to advance to the AFC championship. Now the Chiefs are the only remaining unbeaten team in the NFL, and the Steelers desperately need a victory after losing to the Jaguars at home last week.
"It's a great feeling because you have all your family members there who can't travel all the time and see you," Pouncey said. "It's really special to come back and play in front of the fans you played for in college and high school. It's pretty neat."
