KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Pittsburgh Steelers hold a simple winning formula for beating the Kansas City Chiefs, and it mostly revolves around handing the ball to Le'Veon Bell.

The Steelers running back carved up the Chiefs for 179 rushing yards Sunday, and they knocked off the league's last unbeaten team 19-13 at Arrowhead Stadium.

"We came in expecting to run the ball and we stuck to that game plan," Bell said. "We got the W today."

Bell delivered a repeat performance of his play against the Chiefs in the division playoff after last season. In January, Bell rushed for 170 yards as the Steelers knocked the Chiefs out of the postseason, 18-16.

This game played out much the same way, with the Steelers defense keeping the Kansas City offense in check much of the day and holding off a late rally. Bell said he did not see much difference schematically from the Chiefs defense than he saw last January.

"Kansas City does what they do," Bell said. "They play a lot of man-to-man. They pride themselves on that. First and second down, if we get some good positive runs and we have third-and-short, it opens up the whole playbook."

Chiefs linebacker Derrick Johnson said the Steelers started the game with greater intensity than his team's defense.

"Every defense we have, everybody has a gap regardless of whether they pull that way or pull this way," Johnson said. "And you got to play it the right way. They were tougher than us today. And that's not good to repeat."

The Steelers first put points on the board with help from the Chiefs offense. Kansas City center Zach Fulton, filling in for injured starter Mitch Morse, sailed a snap past quarterback Alex Smith from the Chiefs 9-yard line and through the end zone for a safety.

The Steelers repaid the favor on the very next drive. Chiefs punter Dustin Colquitt booted a short free kick following the safety, and the Steelers failed to retrieve it. Kansas City recovered the ball, setting up the Chiefs for a 46-yard field goal by Harrison Butker and giving them a 3-2 lead.

Smith and the Chiefs offense struggled throughout the afternoon, however. The quarterback completed 19 of 34 passes for 246 yards and a touchdown with an 88.6 passer rating. It was the first time this season Smith failed to crack the 100-rating barrier.

Kansas City rookie running back Kareem Hunt picked up just 21 yards on nine carries.

Bell put the Steelers back on top on the first play of the second quarter with a 3-yard touchdown run. Kicker Chris Boswell added a field goal just before the two-minute warning to give the Steelers a 12-3 halftime lead.

The Chiefs had a chance to cut the deficit to a single score early in the fourth quarter. Head coach Andy Reid eschewed a field goal on fourth-and-2 from the Steelers' 4-yard line. Smith found tight end Demetrius Harris in the end zone, but safety Sean Davis knocked the ball free.

"Hindsight ends up being that I wish we would have kicked it," Reid said. "But at the time I felt pretty strongly that we would complete it."

Smith rallied the Chiefs in the fourth quarter, connecting with De'Anthony Thomas for a 57-yard touchdown pass, cutting the deficit to 12-10.

The Steelers responded again, however. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger teamed up with receiver Antonio Brown for a 51-yard touchdown pass. Chiefs cornerback Phillip Gaines batted the ball in the air, yet the deflection landed in the hands of Brown, who took off down the sideline for a score that gave the Steelers a 19-10 lead with 3:24 remaining in the game.

Roethlisberger said he saw Brown against the Chiefs' nickel back Gaines and wanted to throw the ball to Brown's back shoulder.

"It kind of went up the field a little more than I wanted it to," Roethlisberger said. "The guy had a chance to make a play. But the ball got on it pretty quick. I thought worst-case scenario it's incomplete. But AB's going to make a play, and he did just that. It was fun to watch it happen."

Roethlisberger finished 17 of 25 for 252 yards and a touchdown with one interception. Brown finished with eight catches for 155 yards. The game marked a significant turnaround for a Steelers offense that turned the ball over five times in a 30-9 loss to Jacksonville last week.

"I felt like we possessed the ball, I felt like we moved the ball up and down the field," Roethlisberger said. "Our backed-up offense was great getting out of there in this environment, and this is a really good defense."

Roethlisberger hopes this game serves as a turning point for an offense ranked 17th in the league entering Week 6.

"Hopefully, this is a stepping stone to say we didn't put up the points, but we came to a place like this to play a defense like this and still did pretty good."

NOTES: Pittsburgh LB Vince Williams left the game early in the fourth quarter with a hip injury. He collected four tackles on the day, including two sacks. ... Chiefs RB Kareem Hunt rushed for 21 yards and added 89 receiving yards, helping him top 100 yards from scrimmage for the sixth consecutive game to start his career. That breaks the record of five games with 100 yards or more from scrimmage to start a career set by Adrian Peterson. ... Chiefs WR Tyreek Hill left the game following a 32-yard punt return with 1:59 left in the fourth quarter. Team trainers evaluated him for a concussion.