KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Shrugging off the bitter cold, the Kansas City Chiefs won their 12th game of the season Saturday in dispatching the Seattle Seahawks 24-10 on the frozen tundra of GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium.
The temperature at kickoff had warmed to 15 degrees, a three-day high after an artic blast plunged Kansas City into a deep freeze in recent days.
Quarterback Patrick Mahomes heated up as the first half progressed, spreading cheer throughout the stadium on Christmas Eve with a pair of first-half touchdowns.
He finished 16 of 28 for 224 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions for the Chiefs (12-3), who have won at least 12 games in all five of his seasons as the starting quarterback.
Mahomes now has more than 4,500 yards and 35 touchdowns for the fourth time in his career. Only Tom Brady with five such campaigns has surpassed Mahomes, according to the Chiefs’ game notes.
Kansas City, which clinched a seventh straight AFC West title last week, has won 12 or more games in six of the last seven seasons.
"I'm honestly so blessed to be a part of it for my first three years," linebacker Willie Gay Jr. said. "To come to a team like this as a rookie and still be here today is a blessing, and I'm so grateful, so thankful. To get 12 this year, I'm trying to keep going and win our last one in Arizona."
The Chiefs led 17-3 at halftime but struggled to put away the Seahawks in the second half until a Juan Thornhill interception in the end zone midway through the fourth quarter iced the victory.
Seattle (7-8) had controlled much of the second half to that point and was threatening once again before Geno Smith overthrew Marquise Goodwin in double coverage.
Thornhill, who had an earlier interception in the end zone wiped away by a penalty, snagged the errant pass, and Mahomes and company took it from there.
"It felt great," said Thornhill, who has two interceptions this season and seven in his career. "I felt like I was in a little drought for a while, and I finally got one. They called back two. They called this one back today, and they called one back the other week, but I finally got one, so I'm proud of that."
It also energized the offense, which went 80 yards for a touchdown after the touchback.
“That helped out a lot and helped us seal the deal,” wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster said. “It lit a fire for our offense and put a cap on it for the defense.”
Mahomes' first two passes on the ensuing drive went to tight end Travis Kelce for 20 and 52 yards. Kelce finished with six catches for 113 yards — his 35th career 100-yard receiving game, an NFL record for tight ends.
Three plays later, Mahomes scrambled for a 3-yard touchdown, diving into the end zone at the pylon with 4:42 remaining.
“I was able to just get enough of that pylon,” said Mahomes, who supported himself on his left wrist with the rest of his body airborne out of bounds before clipping the front pylon with the football. “I grazed it. I knew it was close, but I grazed it and I knew the rule that if you touch the pylon you’re good.”
He said the handstand part of the dive wasn’t on purpose, “but, hey, it shows the wrist is a little strong.”
Any hope the Seahawks had for a comeback vanished at that point.
“I went to the sideline after we had a few drives in a row where we fizzled out really fast and said, ‘Hey, the defense is playing, we just need one more score to put the game away,’” Mahomes said. “I thought the guys responded well.”
Seattle actually had more first downs (19-14), possessed the ball for more than 35 minutes and outgained Kansas City (333-297), led by Kenneth Walker III, who had 26 carries for 107 yards.
Linebacker Nick Bolton, a notable Pro Bowl snub, finished with a game-high 17 tackles for a defense that totaled nine tackles for a loss with two sacks and seven quarterback hits.
"The ends on the outside were setting the edges and sending the ball back inside to us," said Gay, who finished with nine tackles. "They dominated today, and whenever they dominate, we dominate and the back end can eat as well. It was a team effort today."
The Chiefs' defense also limited the Seahawks to 2 of 14 on third-down conversions.
The teams traded punts to start the game before wide receiver Kadarius Toney capped the Chiefs’ second drive with an 8-yard catch and run off a jet-sweep pop pass from Mahomes.
"It's still new a little bit," Toney said smiling when asked about his second career touchdown, "but I'm just doing what I can right now."
George Karlaftis, a rookie first-round pick from Purdue, ended Seattle’s ensuing drive by batting down a fourth-and-3 pass from Smith to set up the offense near midfield.
Mahomes’ second touchdown came on a 9-yard toss to running back Jerick McKinnon early in the second quarter, doubling Kansas City’s lead.
Harrison Butker made it 17-0 with 2:40 remaining when he connected on a 47-yard field goal, but Jason Myers answered with a 22-yard field goal as the first half came to a close.
Neither team managed to score in the third quarter, but Thornhill’s pick turned the tide permanently in the Chiefs’ favor.
