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Happy holiday for Chiefs, who wrap up AFC’s No. 1 seed with dominant win in Pittsburgh

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Happy holiday for Chiefs, who wrap up AFC’s No. 1 seed with dominant win in Pittsburgh

PITTSBURGH — One by one, each player on the Chiefs exited the field Wednesday afternoon and walked along the left wall inside the bowels of Acrisure Stadium. Before they entered the visitors’ locker room, many of the Chiefs smiled and said two words with glee: “Merry Christmas!”

Chris Jones, the Chiefs’ best pass rusher who didn’t play because of a strained calf injury, hopped several times on his way to the locker room. The final two Chiefs to rejoin their teammates were quarterback Patrick Mahomes and tight end Travis Kelce, each donning an oversized red Santa Claus jacket, a specialty item they received from Netflix just minutes after the streaming service carried its first NFL game.

The Chiefs roared when Mahomes and Kelce arrived, but the person who generated the loudest crescendo of cheers was coach Andy Reid, who walked into the middle of the room in full costume as Santa Claus.

“That was a great surprise,” safety Justin Reid said after the Chiefs’ dominating 29-10 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers.

“Oh, electric,” offensive lineman Joe Thuney said of Andy Reid’s entrance. “That was awesome. I didn’t see that coming.”

Defensive tackle Tershawn Wharton summarized Wednesday’s moment well: “Coach is always good with the festivities when you win.”

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But these exact festivities were unlike any of the Chiefs’ previous 14 victories this season. As the league’s reigning back-to-back champion, the Chiefs — as they aim for an unprecedented third straight Super Bowl victory — knew one of the biggest questions looming over them was this: Could they endure yet another long grind toward the postseason and outlast their opponents? The answer was yes. On the way, the Chiefs experienced 10 one-score victories, some of which left them more frustrated than satisfied.

Wednesday’s game against the Steelers, though, served as the final stretch of their marathon, close enough that they could see the finish line. Before kickoff of this showcase game, the Chiefs knew they were just one victory away from achieving their biggest goal of the regular season: earning the AFC’s No. 1 seed, which would give them a first-round bye, the projected easiest path to Super Bowl LIX. For 60 minutes Wednesday, the Chiefs sprinted past the Steelers in every way, winning by their largest margin this season.

“Proud of you dudes,” Reid said to his players through his long, white, fake beard. “For your present, you get home-field advantage (in the postseason), my men.”

While club owner Clark Hunt spoke to the team, congratulating the Chiefs for the first 15-win regular season in franchise history, assistant equipment manager Chris Shropshire popped out of a portable box in a green-and-red elf costume to present a game ball to Reid. Of course, the ball was imprinted with the name Santa Claus.

“I didn’t pack it,” Reid said of his costume while still wearing its pants. “One of my elves did. I can’t tell you the secrets, but there was an elf involved — for all you non-believers out there, doggone it.”

Reid knew his players deserved a night of jokes, laughter and praise.

Wednesday’s game was the conclusion of one of the Chiefs’ most difficult stretches of the season. Playing their third game in 11 days, the Chiefs offense, led by Mahomes, was at its most potent, and the defense swarmed the Steelers (10-6), the result of every defender tackling well.

“It showed the toughness of the team,” Mahomes said. “We got better as the games went on. The guys are mentally tough and we played some really good teams. Getting that No. 1 seed is important. It’s like winning a playoff game.”

Once again playing through a right high ankle sprain, Mahomes produced his best performance of the season, finishing with 320 yards and three touchdown passes.

A big reason Mahomes did so well was that he entered Acrisure with the best collection of skill players he has had all season. Receivers Marquise Brown and Xavier Worthy allowed the Chiefs to be effective on the perimeter and the intermediate area of the field. With Brown playing well in just his second game this season, his presence created more space for Kelce, who feasted in the second half against the Steelers’ zone coverage.

“Before Hollywood got (back), Xavier started playing better, being more confident and I had gotten better chemistry with him,” Mahomes said. “Other guys stepped up, making plays. Then you throw Hollywood in there, and it kind of sets everybody perfectly in their roles. We spread the ball around really well. When you have that many weapons, it’s hard for the defense to account for. Hollywood has made a huge impact on this offense.”

Mahomes also finished Wednesday with the fastest average time to throw — 2.34 seconds — of his eight-year career, according to TruMedia. He completed 20 of his 24 passes under 2.5 seconds for 190 yards and two touchdowns.

And receiver Justin Watson caught Mahomes’ lone deep pass of the game for a 49-yard strike.

“I was happy for (Watson),” Mahomes said. “This is home for him. It’s always special to get a touchdown back in your home state.”

Even without Jones, their All-Pro pass rusher, the Chiefs defense generated several splash plays for coordinator Steve Spagnuolo. The Chiefs hit Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson nine times and sacked him five times, a season high for Pittsburgh.

“We knew they were going to run it a lot,” said Wharton, who had a sack. “They got a few leaky yards. But once we stopped that, we knew Russ was going to hold (the ball), so then go get him. We understood what was at risk. We wanted the No. 1 seed and it’s December, so it’s time to pick up the pace and get ready for the playoffs.”

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The Chiefs have held their last five opponents to an average of 14 points. Whenever the Steelers made a mistake, the Chiefs took advantage. Spagnuolo’s unit produced two takeaways, an interception by Justin Reid and a forced fumble by cornerback Trent McDuffie that linebacker Nick Bolton recovered.

“This league is so much about momentum and catching fire,” Justin Reid said. “You don’t want to play your best football early. We’ve said that all year, that our best football was ahead of us. We’re getting closer and we’re doing it the right way.”

The most pivotal moment of the first half was Reid’s interception in the end zone, a pre-snap coverage tactic that fooled Wilson and receiver George Pickens as the Chiefs presented a double-team look on Pickens.

“I baited him into it,” Justin Reid said of Wilson. “I just came (in) blind and picked it off.”

While Wilson’s black-and-gold uniform had plenty of grass stains, Mahomes’ all-white uniform was clean after the game.

The main reason for Mahomes’ excellence Wednesday was because maybe the Chiefs have found their best left tackle this season: Thuney, the All-Pro left guard. For the third consecutive game, Thuney started at left tackle in place of D.J. Humphries, who is recovering from a left hamstring injury. For the third consecutive game, Thuney didn’t surrender a sack.

“Joe Thuney is one of the best offensive linemen in the league and (guard Mike Caliendo) … has just filled his role perfectly and beautifully,” Kelce said. “It’s awesome to see this team grow throughout the year. That’s exactly what we’ve done. Right now, Pat’s looking pretty comfortable back there and it’s because those guys up front are playing really well and in sync. That’s the biggest thing.”

One of the few times Mahomes improvised in the second half was when Thuney, along with running back Kareem Hunt, put outside linebacker Alex Highsmith on his butt. Mahomes threw an easy 12-yard touchdown pass to Kelce, who was wide open in the back of the end zone. It was Kelce’s 77th receiving touchdown, moving him past Hall of Fame tight end Tony Gonzalez for the most receiving touchdowns in franchise history.

Less than an hour after the game, after Kelce ate red velvet cake in the shape of a football during Netflix’s on-field interview and after the Chiefs’ celebration in the locker room, Mahomes delivered a message to the rest of the NFL’s contending teams.

“We feel like we can continue to get better and better,” Mahomes said. “We’re excited for (the postseason). We’re going to keep working. This isn’t the end. This is just the beginning. We’ll continue to work to get even better.”

(Photo of Travis Kelce and JuJu Smith-Schuster: Barry Reeger / Imagn Images)

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