PITTSBURGH — The Kansas City Chiefs have received a first-round playoff bye before, but Patrick Mahomes said they’ve never needed it quite like this season.
The Chiefs clinched the AFC’s top playoff seed — which means they’ll get a first-round bye and have home-field advantage throughout the postseason — by beating the Pittsburgh Steelers 29-10 on Wednesday to reach 15-1.
“It’s just going to be nice getting guys healthy,” said Mahomes, who was 29-of-38 for 320 yards and three touchdowns. “I think this was the earliest [regular-season] bye I’ve ever had just in general. To kind of have this grind of whatever it is — I think we had our bye Week 6 — so it’s like almost 10 weeks of just football and grinding and then this short schedule at the very end of the year.
“We have some guys banged up, and to get them back healthy now and we’ll see how Week 18 goes and who plays and who doesn’t play. That’s up to Coach [Andy Reid]. But even getting this little break, getting back healthy and then getting ourselves ready to go for the playoffs, it was super important.”
Mahomes played against the Steelers with a high ankle sprain sustained two weeks earlier. Defensive tackle Chris Jones didn’t play in Pittsburgh because of a strained calf. The Chiefs are hopeful offensive tackle D.J. Humphries, who has sat out the past three games because of a sore hamstring, can be ready to play when the postseason begins.
The Chiefs, by winning on Christmas Day, survived a stretch of three games in 11 days. They won all three, but Mahomes said they spent a considerable amount of energy in doing so.
“It showed the toughness of the team, and I think we got better as, obviously, the games went on,” Mahomes said. “The guys, they’re mentally tough and they’re physically tough, and we played some really good football teams, [had] some hard-fought battles.
“That No. 1 seed is important. It’s like winning a playoff game, and so I was happy to get that done.”
The 19-point margin of victory was the largest of the season for the Chiefs. They racked up 389 yards, more than they had in all but one other game. Even without Jones, they sacked Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson five times and intercepted him once while also forcing a Pittsburgh fumble.
Reid called it the Chiefs’ most complete game of the season.
“All three phases were rolling,” Reid said. “The important thing is that we continue that and then we keep getting better and not flatten off. Not go backwards but keep climbing on it.”
Mahomes was encouraged by the passing game. The Chiefs recently brought one wide receiver, Hollywood Brown, back to their lineup after a season-long injury and expanded the role of another, rookie Xavier Worthy.
The two combined for 12 catches, 125 yards and a touchdown against the Steelers.
“We built up to the perfect spot,” Mahomes said. “We’ve gotten better and better before Hollywood got here. Xavier started playing better, being more confident. I’ve got a better chemistry with him. Other guys that stepped up started making plays, and then you throw Hollywood in there and it kind of sets everybody perfectly in their roles. You saw that today. I don’t know the exact stats, but it seemed like we spread the ball around really well and guys made plays; and when you have that many weapons out there, it’s hard for defense to account for.
“We feel like we can continue to get better and better. But obviously, we’re playing, especially offensively, our best football at the end of the year and getting guys healthy, and we’re excited for it. We’re going to keep working. This isn’t the end. This is just the beginning, and we will continue to work to get even better as we go into the playoffs.”
Tight end Travis Kelce had eight catches, and his 12-yard scoring catch in the fourth quarter set a team record for career touchdown receptions. Kelce has 77 TDs, which passed Tony Gonzalez, who had 76 for Kansas City and 111 total.
After his touchdown, Kelce did Gonzalez’s signature TD celebration move by dunking the ball over the goalpost. The “tribute” drew a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, though Harrison Butker made the PAT try anyway, from 48 yards instead of 33.
“I knew the score, and I knew that my guy Harrison had my back on the [PAT],” Kelce said. “So, it’s showing Tony some love and just a big tribute to who he’s been in this, not only this organization but who he’s been for football, and we know how iconic it was that he would dunk the ball over the goalpost all the time. I gave my best effort. I don’t know if I did it quite like him.”
The Chiefs still have one regular-season game left, against the Broncos in Denver, though it will be meaningless in terms of the standings or playoff seeding. Reid wouldn’t say how the Chiefs would approach that contest.
If he decides to rest Mahomes, Jones, Kelce and other key players, that will mean they’ll have a break of over three weeks by the time the playoffs begin.
But Mahomes said that was a good problem for the Chiefs to have.
“That’s completely up to Coach,” Mahomes said. “I’ll prepare [to play against the Broncos] regardless.
“I’m going to [plan to] start, and if Coach wants me to go out there and play, I’ll go out there and play. If he doesn’t, I’ll sit back. I fully trust that Coach Reid knows what he’s doing, and he’s done it for a long time.”
