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In stark contrast to last year’s Christmas Day performance, the Kansas City Chiefs celebrated this holiday season in style with a commanding 29-10 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Wednesday afternoon. The win moved them to 15-1, clinching the AFC’s top postseason seed with the coveted first-round bye — and homefield advantage throughout the playoffs.
Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes believes that during a brutal schedule — three games in 11 days — his teammates have shown their mettle.
“It showed the toughness of this team,” Mahomes told reporters after the game. “I think we got better as the games went on. The guys? They’re mentally tough and they’re physically tough. We played some really good football teams. [There were] some hard-fought battles and the guys came away with three wins.
“So again, that No. 1 seed is important. It’s like winning a playoff game. So I was happy to get that done.”
The Chiefs delivered what was arguably their best performance of the season. Mahomes put on a showcase, mixing a steady diet of routine completions with the aggressive highlight plays that made him the NFL’s best quarterback. He finished the game with 320 yards and three touchdowns, while spreading the ball to eight different receivers.
It seems that the Kansas City offense is once again peaking at just the right time.
“We feel like we can continue to get better and better,” observed Mahomes. “Obviously, we’re playing — especially offensively — our best football at the end of the year. [We’re] getting guys healthy — [and] we’re excited for it.
“We’re going to keep working, [because] this isn’t the end. This is just the beginning.”
Head coach Andy Reid believes claiming the first-round bye before the season’s end is a significant advantage. While he hasn’t finalized who will play in Week 18’s regular-season finale against the Denver Broncos in Colorado, he recognizes the value of giving some players much-needed time to recover from a very demanding schedule.
“It’ll definitely help with some of the guys that are banged-up,” said Reid. “just to get guys back and freshen up a little bit. I think will be a positive for us.”
But Reid also wants to maintain his team’s momentum across all three phases. While securing the top seed is a noteworthy achievement, the coach wants to remain focused on the team’s ultimate goal: a third straight Super Bowl victory.
“The important thing is that we continue that,” insisted Reid. “Then we keep getting better. [We don’t] not flatten off [or] go backwards. [We] keep climbing on that.”
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