Kansas City, Mo. ? The Steelers and Chiefs have both dealt with a crippling number of injuries this season, whether it was Pittsburgh losing quarterbacks Ben Roethlisberger and Michael Vick or Kansas City losing Jamaal Charles for the season.

The big difference? Pittsburgh has pressed on. Kansas City has shriveled up.

The Steelers head to Arrowhead Stadium today in search of their third straight win, and their fifth victory in sixth games. Third-string quarterback Landry Jones is expected to get his first start, and a plethora of other backups are also expected to play significant minutes.

Meanwhile, the Chiefs are trying to end a maddening five-game skid lowlighted by last-minute losses to Denver and Chicago, and a horrid offensive performance last week in Minnesota.

“We are extremely fragile. We acknowledge that,” Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said. “We aren’t looking for comfort. We aren’t looking to make excuses. Just in the state of where we are, we are going … to make necessary adjustments to put ourselves in position to win.”

The Steelers (4-2) have so far been able to do just that.

Roethlisberger has been practicing but is still unlikely to play as he recovers from a knee injury, and Vick is sidelined by a hamstring injury. But in their place a week ago, Jones threw for 168 yards and two touchdowns in leading Pittsburgh to a 25-13 win over Arizona.

It was precisely the kind of gritty performance that has become a Steelers hallmark.

“That was really exciting. Not only for us but for Landry,” Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown said. “He showed amazing growth, amazing poise.”

Especially considering everybody he was missing. Offensive tackle Kelvin Beachum is out for the season with a knee injury, center Maurkice Pouncey has a broken leg, wide receiver Martavis Bryant has been dealing with a knee injury, offensive tackle Mike Adams an ailing back.

Even more guys are missing on the defensive side.

“We focus not on the guys that aren’t playing, but the guys that are,” Tomlin said.

“We won’t spend a bunch of time lamenting about the loss of Kelvin Beachum or whether or not Ben or Mike are available. We are going to spend our time talking about putting (offensive tackle) Alejandro Villanueva in a position to perform, or how to accentuate the talents of Landry.”

The Chiefs (1-5) are trying to do the same thing. So far, they’ve had less success.

Charles had surgery Tuesday to repair the ACL in his right knee, leaving the Chiefs without their biggest playmaker for the rest of the season. Without him they were nearly shut out in Minnesota a week ago — they had 51 yards of first-half offense.

“It’s tough, obviously, because of the type of player he is,” Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith said. “He’s a guy the defense is always worried about, run and pass. He’s tough and he’s tough to replace. We have to make some changes, guys have got to step up and we got to go.”

Making matters worse, the Chiefs could be without leading wide receiver Jeremy Maclin this week due to a concussion. On defense, linebackers Tamba Hali, Justin Wilson and Ramik Wilson are all banged-up, and defensive tackle Mike DeVito is dealing with a concussion.

As the Steelers and Chiefs personify “next man up,” here are some other keys to remember:

REPLACING CHARLES: Charcandrick West ran for 33 yards, and the Chiefs for 57 yards total, in their first game without Charles. They’ll need to do better against the league’s seventh-best run defense, which is allowing less than 100 yards rushing per game.

MORE INJURY WOES: Steelers defensive end Stephon Tuitt is dealing with a knee injury and may be unable to go. “We’ll leave the light on for Stephon,” Tomlin said. “If he is able to protect himself and be productive, we’ll give him an opportunity.”

TURNOVER TALES: The Steelers are tied for first in turnover differential at plus-6, with nine takeaways this season. The Chiefs are minus-2 in that category.

COLLEGE BUDDIES: Jones starred at Oklahoma with Chiefs offensive tackle Donald Stephenson, cornerback Jamell Flemming and long snapper James Winchester. Brown played for Central Michigan at the same time as Chiefs offensive tackle Eric Fisher and linebacker Frank Zombo.

UNFRIENDLY ARROWHEAD: The Chiefs have lost both of their home games, the first on a fumble returned for a touchdown in the closing minutes against Denver, and the second on a last-minute touchdown reception by Matt Forte of the Bears. “It’s a hostile environment,” Tomlin said, “(but) we will have a great opportunity to be ready to deal with that.”

CHIEFS-STEELERS CAPSULE

PITTSBURGH (4-2) at KANSAS CITY (1-5)

Today, noon, CBS (WOW channels 5, 13, 205, 213)

LINE — Chiefs by 3

RECORD VS. SPREAD — Steelers 4-0-2, Chiefs 1-5-0

SERIES RECORD — Steelers lead 20-10

LAST MEETING — Steelers beat Chiefs 20-12, Dec. 21, 2014

LAST WEEK — Steelers beat Cardinals 25-13; Chiefs lost to Vikings 16-10

AP PRO32 RANKING — Steelers No. 8, Chiefs No. 29

STEELERS OFFENSE — OVERALL (17), RUSH (8), PASS (24).

STEELERS DEFENSE — OVERALL (23), RUSH (7), PASS (26).

CHIEFS OFFENSE — OVERALL (20), RUSH (20), PASS (19).

CHIEFS DEFENSE — OVERALL (22), RUSH (11), PASS (25).

STREAKS, STATS AND NOTES — Steelers have won three straight in series. Chiefs’ last win was 13-9 on Nov. 27, 2011, at Arrowhead Stadium. … Pittsburgh has won four out of five. Its lone loss was in OT to Baltimore. … Third-string QB Landry Jones expected to start for Steelers. He was 8 of 12 for 168 yards and two TDs against Arizona. Ben Roethlisberger and Michael Vick battling injuries. … Steelers are tied for first with three other teams in turnover differential at plus-6. They have nine takeaways. … RB Le’Veon Bell has 390 yards rushing since returning from suspension in Week 3, second in league to Atlanta’s Devonta Freeman. … Kansas City punted on first six possessions last week in Minnesota, then turned over ball on downs on seventh. … Chiefs rookie CB Marcus Peters intercepted his third pass of season last Sunday. … Chiefs LB Justin Houston has four sacks through six games. He had 22 sacks last season. … RB Charcandrick West ran for 33 yards against Minnesota in his first start since Jamaal Charles sustained season-ending knee injury. … Fantasy Tip: Chiefs’ run defense held Minnesota RB Adrian Peterson to 60 yards on 26 carries last week, but injuries to DT Dontari Poe (ankle), DT Mike DeVito (concussion) and LB Josh Mauga (groin) make Chiefs porous up front. Bell should keep rolling through Kansas City defense.