KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- In his two NFL seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs, running back Charcandrick West followed teammate and Pro Bowl running back Jamaal Charles around like a puppy. West was a sponge, soaking up whatever knowledge Charles was willing to provide. One of those tidbits the veteran gave him was to take a few moments the day before the game to visualize his performance and write down his goals.

Charles' season is over due to a knee injury, but his influence was felt on Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium as West ran for 110 yards and scored the first touchdown of his NFL career in the Chiefs 23-13 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Following Charles' advice, West wrote down his goals for the game: He wanted to run for 100-plus yards and he wanted to score a touchdown. He achieved both and was a big part of ending the Chiefs' five-game losing streak. They are now 2-5 on the season.

"It's still surreal for me, to even be in this position to score a touchdown," said West, an undrafted free agent who signed with Kansas City last year out of Abilene Christian University. "I went to sleep last night telling myself, 'You've got to see it before you can do it.' I wanted my first touchdown and I wanted my first 100-yard game. I felt it."

Along with the contribution of West and the Chiefs offense, the Kansas City defense turned in its best performance in over a month. Pittsburgh was without starting quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (knee) and backup Michael Vick (hamstring). No. 3 quarterback Landry Jones was making his first NFL start, but the now 4-3 Steelers still had weapons, such as running back Le'Veon Bell (17 carries, 121 yards) and wide receiver Antonio Brown (six catches for 124 yards.)

But Jones threw a pair of interceptions and also lost a fumble when he was sacked, and Pittsburgh found the end zone just once.

"I don't think I played very well; I've got to make more plays out there," said Jones. "I can't turn the ball over, and there were so many opportunities to go out there and win that game. You can't win when you play like that."

The Chiefs had limited offensive weapons as they were without Charles, who underwent surgery on the torn ACL in his right knee last week, and top wide receiver Jeremy Maclin, who did not play after suffering a concussion in last Sunday's game. That's where West and rookie wide receiver Chris Conley got their opportunities. Conley had his first NFL touchdown reception, a 6-yard pass from quarterback Alex Smith late in the fourth quarter, and finished with six catches for 63 yards.

The busiest players in the first half were the kickers, as the halftime score of 9-3 was established with field goals. Kansas City's Cairo Santos hit from 22, 27 and 30 yards, but missed a 54-yard attempt. Pittsburgh's Chris Boswell made a 24-yarder.

The successful field goals all came because neither offense was productive inside the opponent's 20-yard line. The Steelers had a first-and-10 at the Chiefs 14-yard line and couldn't get near the end zone. Kansas City's offense had possessions on first down at Pittsburgh's 13-, 19- and 9-yard lines and settled for three pointers on all three opportunities.

"That was frustrating because we had the opportunities," said Smith. "We did what we had to do there and kept pushing it, and then at the end we were able to get the two touchdowns."

It was late in the third quarter before a touchdown was added to the scoreboard, as West dove over the pile on a third-and-goal snap just inches off the goal line. Santos' PAT kick gave the Chiefs a 16-3 lead.

But Landry moved Pittsburgh in for a touchdown just before the end of the period, connecting with wide receiver Martavis Bryant on a 19-yard scoring pass. Bryant made an ankle-buckling double move on Chiefs cornerback Sean Smith, who fell down and allowed Bryant open access to the end zone. That cut the deficit to 16-10. Pittsburgh later added another field goal from Boswell, this one from 36 yards, and the Steelers pulled within three points.

But the Chiefs' offense put together one of its best drives of the last month, as Smith took the team 84 yards on eight plays before he connected with a Conley for a 6-yard touchdown pass. The PAT kick gave the Chiefs a 10-point lead with just over five minutes to play.

"We didn't get off the field when we needed to," said Pittsburgh linebacker Jarvis Jones. "We just didn't make the splash plays we usually make."

The Steelers will face AFC North rival Cincinnati at Heinz Field next Sunday. Kansas City will head to London where it will play the Detroit Lions.

NOTES: the Chiefs scrambled their beleaguered offensive line, making changes at three of the five spots. Eric Fisher moved from right to left tackle. Jeff Allen started at right tackle and Laurent Duvernay-Tardif opened at right guard. It was Allen's first action of the season with the offense. ... Steelers CB Antwon Blake left the game in the second quarter to be analyzed for a possible concussion. He returned to the field at the start of the second half. ... The 1-yard touchdown run by RB Charcandrick West was the first rushing score for the Kansas City offense in the last 15 quarters of play.