Patrick Mahomes’ three touchdown passes keyed the Kansas City Chiefs to a convincing 29-10 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Christmas Day. With the win, the Chiefs clinched the AFC’s No. 1 seed and the coveted first-round playoff bye that comes with it. The Chiefs are also the eighth team in NFL history to win at least 15 regular-season games.
While it wasn’t a lump of coal, the Steelers received a third straight loss for Christmas and are now trailing the Ravens in the AFC North division standings. While they have already clinched a playoff berth, the Steelers would have to settle for a wild-card spot if the postseason started today.
The visiting Chiefs stormed out to a 13-0 lead after scoring on their first two possessions. The Steelers cut their deficit to 13-7 at halftime and were trailing 16-10 late in the third quarter. Kansas City responded by once again scoring touchdowns on consecutive drives, with the second score being set up by a Pittsburgh turnover. Mahomes’ third touchdown pass of the day — a 12-yard completion to Travis Kelce with 12:38 left — essentially put a bow on the game. On the play, Kelce passed Hall of Fame tight end Tony Gonzalez for the most touchdown receptions in franchise history.
Mahomes torched Pittsburgh’s secondary to the tune of 320 yards on 29 of 38 passing. Kansas City’s defensive charge was spearheaded by its pass rush that sacked Russell Wilson five times. The Chiefs were able to get to Wilson despite the absence of Chris Jones, who was sidelined with an injury.
Here’s a closer look at how the Chiefs gave their fans a Merry Christmas.
Why the Chiefs won
The Chiefs received an early Christmas present when Marquise Brown made his Kansas City debut this past Saturday. Kansas City showed off its shiny “new” toy on Christmas, as Brown’s presence put even more strain on the Steelers’ already stretched out defense.
While his numbers don’t jump off a page, “Hollywood” Brown’s four receptions forced the Steelers to focus on him while giving the Chiefs’ other playmakers more room to roam. That included fellow speedster Xavier Worthy, who gave the Chiefs an early 7-0 with with his short touchdown catch.
Kansas City never took its foot off the gas pedal, especially Mahomes, who proved once again that the conversation regarding the NFL’s best player stops and ends with him. Mahomes riddled Pittsburgh’s proud defense while completing passes to eight different teammates. At the top of that the stat sheet was Kelce, whose 87 yards was his most in a game since Week 9.
Defensively, the Chiefs pounced on Pittsburgh’s traditionally slow-starting offense by pressuring Wilson, who threw a costly interception to safety Justin Reid late in the first quarter (more on that later). Kansas City’s defense later made the game-clinching play when Trent McDuffie forced a fumble that set up Kelce’s knockout punch.
Why the Steelers lost
Where do you want to start? Pittsburgh’s third loss in 11 days can be chalked up to a variety of things. Among those things was an underperforming offense and a defense that no longer seems capable of bailing the team out.
It’s clear that the Steelers’ plan was to control the ball while limiting Mahomes’ possessions. While the strategy somewhat worked (Pittsburgh won time of possession and controlled the ball for over 17 minutes in the first half), the Steelers didn’t fully capitalize on their scoring opportunities. The offense’s slow start (and the defense’s subsequent slow start) was a crushing blow to Pittsburgh’s upset hopes.
The Steelers tried to claw back into the game, but they ultimately dug themselves too deep of a hole to climb out of. Offensively, the Steelers didn’t do enough to protect Wilson, who continues to pay for price for Pittsburgh’s inability to give him a proven No. 2 receiver. Defensively, the Steelers secondary looked confused and out of sync, which was likely somewhat due to the absence of injured starting cornerback Joey Porter Jr.
Pittsburgh outrushed the Chiefs 202-61, with Najee Harris leading the way with 74 yards on 13 carries (Harris became the first player in franchise history to rush for over 1,000 yards in each of his first four seasons). But the Steelers’ mistakes and their defense’s inability to come up with big plays made Pittsburgh’s running game a moot point.
Turning point
As noted earlier, the game was up for grabs late in the third quarter after a Chris Boswell field goal made it a 16-10 game. But the Chiefs countered with an 11-play, 77-yard drive that was capped off by a short Kareem Hunt touchdown run. The drive featured two big catches by Brown that included a 17-yard gain on a second-and-14 play.
Pittsburgh’s next drive was quickly doomed after defensive end Felix Anudike-Uzomah dumped Wilson for a 5-yard loss on second down. On the next play, Steelers tight end Pat Freiermuth caught a short pass and tried to fight for the first down, but he fumbled the ball away in the process. Kansas City quickly cashed in on the turnover on Kelce’s record-setting score.
Play of the game
Reid’s pick was crucial as it abruptly ended a sure Steelers scoring drive. The pick occurred one play after a holding call on Steelers tight end Broderick Jones wiped out a touchdown run by Jaylen Warren.
Quotable
Stats and stuff
The win gave the Chiefs a franchise-record 15 wins. Kansas City is the first 15-win team since the 2015 Carolina Panthers. Of the previous seven 15-win teams, only two (the 1984 49ers and 1985 Bears) went onto win the Super Bowl. The last five teams to win at least 15 games came up short in their quest to win the Super Bowl.
What’s next
The Steelers will get a little time off before hosting the Bengals in Week 18. The Bengals (7-8) may not be playing for a possible playoff spot depending on what happens between now and the end of the season. Cincinnati has to defeat the Broncos on Saturday if it’s going to have any shot at the postseason.
Speaking of Denver, the Chiefs will face the Broncos in Denver in Week 18. With the No. 1 seed in hand, the Chiefs will likely rest several key players for that game.
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