Category: NFL (American Football)

Andy Reid wore a Santa Claus suit in a happy Kansas City Chiefs locker room on Christmas Day, and then gave his team a gift that they have earned: home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs.

How Reid managed to get into the costume so quickly after Kansas City’s solid 29-10 win over the struggling Pittsburgh Steelers to secure the top seed in the AFC for the fourth time in seven years remains unclear (though he hinted that an elf may have helped).

However, how Reid’s team continues to pull away from the competition year after year is clear.

A lot of Patrick Mahomes. A little bit of Travis Kelce. Some speed. A defense that quietly handles its work, even when its leader is sitting on the sideline in sweatpants.

Yes, it has been difficult at times — by Kansas City’s high standards — as they chase a third straight championship. But as the playoffs approach, the team that seemed vulnerable for much of the season now seems to be finding its rhythm.

And once again, the road to the Super Bowl will go through Arrowhead Stadium, just the way the Chiefs like it.

“Getting the No. 1 seed is important,” Mahomes said after throwing for 320 yards and three touchdowns. “It’s like winning a playoff game.”

Even though the way the Chiefs secured it didn’t quite feel like a playoff game.

Kansas City (15-1) spent three hours playing with the Steelers (10-6), like a cat batting at leftover wrapping paper. The Chiefs jumped to an early 13-point lead and Pittsburgh never really posed a serious threat, which has now lost three straight games, further damaging its chance to win the AFC North.

“That sucked, to be blunt,” Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said.

It usually does when Pittsburgh faces Mahomes. Mahomes is now 4-0 against the Steelers with 17 touchdowns and just one interception. He threw first-half touchdown passes to Xavier Worthy and Justin Watson and capped it off with a 12-yard touchdown pass to Kelce in the fourth quarter.

That touchdown was Kelce’s 77th career scoring catch, breaking a franchise record set by Hall of Famer Tony Gonzalez. Kelce celebrated by dunking the ball over the goal post, copying Gonzalez’s signature move. The act earned him a 15-yard penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct, but it didn’t matter. Harrison Butker kicked a longer extra point, and the Chiefs were comfortably in charge.

“It’s just showing Tony some love,” Kelce said with a laugh, on the day he joined Gonzalez and Jason Witten as the only tight ends to reach 1,000 career receptions. Kelce finished with eight catches for 84 yards, playing for an offense that is beginning to regain its confidence.

The defense also performed well, even with five-time Pro Bowl defensive end Chris Jones out due to a calf injury. Jones’ teammates hardly looked worn out, despite playing for the third time in 11 days.

“It was tough,” cornerback Trent McDuffie said. “I mean, three games in 11 days is crazy for anybody. But I thought we handled it very well.”

The Steelers didn’t handle it well. Pittsburgh lost all three games in this stretch, facing Super Bowl contenders Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Kansas City, and looked outmatched in each one.

Perhaps the most concerning part for Pittsburgh is how these games played out. They lost each by at least 14 points and could end up starting the postseason on the road after losing a division lead they held just three weeks ago.

“I think that there’s highs and lows in every season,” Pittsburgh quarterback Russell Wilson said after throwing for 205 yards with an ill-timed interception in the first quarter. “We’ve got to make sure that we end this last game on the right footing and right belief.”

That’s never been a problem for Kansas City. Not with Mahomes leading the way. He completed 29 passes to eight different players, including a career-high eight to Worthy and four to Hollywood Brown, whose return from injury has added another playmaker to the Chiefs’ growing list of weapons.

“We’re playing, especially offensively, our best football of the year,” Mahomes said.

It certainly looks that way. The two-time MVP appeared unaffected by the ankle injury he suffered against Cleveland, throwing touchdowns on Kansas City’s first two drives. And while the Steelers got within 13-7 and 16-10, they never had the ball with a chance to take the lead in the second half.

Instead, the Chiefs, who had struggled to pull away in the first three months of the season, surged to secure the No. 1 seed and several weeks of rest before their pursuit of a three-peat, which now seems very possible.

In just 11 days, the Pittsburgh Steelers faced three teams aiming for the Super Bowl, and it’s clear they have struggled to prove they belong with that elite group.

For the third time in those 11 days, the Steelers did the little things wrong—and some big things too—leading to a big loss, this time a 29-10 defeat to Kansas City on Christmas Day. It was a clear reminder of the difference between the two teams, who are heading in opposite directions.

The Chiefs, who have faced some struggles this season while chasing a third straight championship, scored twice early, forced two key turnovers, had five sacks, and sealed the game when they got the chance.

The Steelers (10-6), according to Coach Mike Tomlin, spent the entire game “running on the beach.” Their defense couldn’t stop Patrick Mahomes, and their offense couldn’t protect Russell Wilson or find any rhythm, even with George Pickens back in the lineup after missing three games due to a hamstring injury.

This loss felt all too familiar for Pittsburgh. After another disappointing performance, they left the field looking for answers—answers they may not find soon enough to make a serious playoff run.

“We just need to continue to find ways to get better,” Steelers outside linebacker T.J. Watt said. “As the season goes on, the margins are smaller.”

Right now, those margins are too small for Pittsburgh to get by without being at their best. During this three-game losing streak, their chance at the AFC North title has slipped away each week.

Against a Kansas City team that appears to be improving, Pittsburgh has lost the identity they built during the first three months of the season.

They failed to produce any turnovers, and Wilson threw an interception trying to force a pass into triple coverage in the end zone. Watt and the rest of the defense didn’t sack Mahomes once.

“You can’t afford to spot them points and allow them to scramble around in the pocket and have time,” Watt said. “We didn’t have any success.”

The Steelers are running out of time to regain their confidence as they’ve already locked in a playoff spot. But the optimism of making a playoff run for the first time since 2016 has faded as they’ve been outscored by an average of 16 points in their last three games.

“The bottom line is the junior varsity is not good enough, we’ve got to own that,” Tomlin said. Pittsburgh will have some time to rest before they host Cincinnati for the season finale. How they respond in the next 10 days is crucial.

“Our belief can’t waver,” Wilson said. “If anything, we’ve got to turn it up even more on our belief.”

That’s true, but it would also help if they could stop making the same mistakes, which have haunted them during one of the toughest stretches of Tomlin’s long coaching career.

A sequence late in the first quarter summed up how things have gone for Pittsburgh since their win over Cleveland on Dec. 8, which had pushed them to a 10-3 record and kept their hopes for the AFC’s top seed alive.

Pittsburgh was down 13-0 but managed to get going on a 69-yard drive in just three plays. Jaylen Warren appeared to finish the drive with an 8-yard touchdown run, but a holding penalty on tight end Darnell Washington wiped it off the board.

On the next play, Wilson tried to pass into triple coverage to tight end Pat Freiermuth. Kansas City’s Justin Reid easily intercepted the ball.

“It’s on me,” Wilson said. “I was trying to give Pat a chance. He’s done a good job for us down in the red zone and they made a good play.”

Although the Steelers got within 13-7 at halftime, the defense gave up points quickly after the break. Kansas City scored on its first three possessions in the second half, including two touchdowns in less than two minutes at the start of the fourth quarter to put the game out of reach.

The Chiefs celebrated in the locker room with Santa suits after clinching home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs, while the Steelers walked off with their hopes of winning the AFC North fading fast. Their season, which once had so much promise, seems headed toward another early playoff exit.

“The bottom line is we’re just not performing well enough,” Tomlin said. “I’m less concerned about the control of the division and more concerned about the quality of our performance at this juncture.”