KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Merry Christmas, Chiefs Kingdom — all of a sudden, the two-time reigning Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs look the part of a team ready to make NFL history with a three-peat.
Playing on Christmas Day for the second straight year, the Chiefs set a franchise record for wins (15) and clinched the No. 1 — and the lone, all-important bye — in the AFC playoffs with a 29-10 win Wednesday against the Steelers at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh.
Kansas City, which lost to rival Las Vegas on Christmas last season at home, became the first team since the 2015 Carolina Panthers to start a season 15-1.
The Chiefs are the eighth team in NFL history to win at least 15 games in the regular season — joining the 2007 New England Patriots (16-0) and six teams that finished 15-1 (2015 Panthers, 2011 Green Bay, 2004 Pittsburgh, 1998 Minnesota, 1985 Chicago and 1984 San Francisco).
Kansas City previously won 14 games in 2020 and 2022.
Quarterback Patrick Mahomes went 29 of 38 for 320 yards with three touchdowns. It was his third 300-yard game and fourth three-touchdown game of the season.
Travis Kelce finished with eight catches for 84 yards with his first touchdown since Nov. 10 against Denver, a span of eight games.
RELATED | Kelce sets Chiefs receiving touchdown record, reaches 1,000 catches
The Chiefs (15-1) receive a bye to the Divisional Round and the road to Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans will go through GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium and, some might argue, have played their best football in the last two weeks.
“I’d probably say yes, where all three phases were rolling,” Reid said. “The important thing is that we continue that, and that we keep getting better and not flatten off, not go backwards, but keep climbing on that.”
FIRST-QUARTER DOMINANCE
For the first time in nearly 15 months, the Chiefs’ offense scored two touchdowns in the opening quarter.
Patrick Mahomes threw a 7-yard touchdown to Xavier Worthy on the game’s opening drive and connected with Justin Watson on an 11-yard score on the next drive as Kansas City jumped in front 13-0 in the first quarter.
Worthy’s unsportsmanlike conduct penalty during his TD celebration led to a missed 48-yard Harrison Butker extra point in an otherwise ideal first 15 minutes for the Chiefs.
It was the most points Kansas City scored in a first quarter since putting up 17 on Oct. 1, 2023, in a 23-20 at the New York Jets — a span of 33 games, including the playoffs.
REID ERASES SCORING CHANCE
Pittsburgh answered with a 41-yard pass from Russell Wilson to George Pickens to kick off the ensuing drive and Jaylen Warren, who had a 22-yard run on the drive, plowed into the end zone on an 8-yard touchdown a few plays later.
But a holding penalty erased the score and Chiefs safety Justin Reid erased the scoring chance, intercepting Wilson in the end zone one play later.
It was Reid’s second interception of the season, which is the most he’s had in three seasons with Kansas City.
Reid had three picks as a rookie with Houston in 2018 and also had two in 2019 and 2021 with the Texans before signing with the Chiefs before the 2022 season.
He now has 10 career interceptions.
MCDUFFIE EXTENDS TURNOVER STREAK
Cornerback Trent McDuffie’s career-best stretch of two straight with an interception — the only picks he’s had in his career — ended Wednesday in Pittsburgh, but his turnover streak continued.
McDuffie forced a fumble early in the fourth quarter, helping ice the victory by ripping the ball free from Pat Freiermuth’s grasp.
Kansas City led 22-10 at the time, but the turnover — Nick Bolton pounced on the loose ball for his career-high second fumble recovery of the season — effectively ended any chance for a rally.
“It was a third-and-long, so I knew we were just going to make him (Steelers QB Russell Wilson) check it down,” McDuffie said. “When I was going for the tackle, I already knew I was gonna go for the ball. I kind of gave up, like I was going to hit him, then, man, just went for the ball and stripped it out, kinda like I did last year.”
The Chiefs have forced multiple turnovers in each of the last three games, winning the turnover battle 10-0 during that span.
“This is something that we've been working really hard to get,” McDuffie said. “Things are starting to fall into place, and we're starting to make plays on the ball. I was happy that we're doing it right now and continue to just climb as we get to the playoffs.”
REID CLOSES IN ON 300
Reid picked up his 299th career win, including the postseason, which ranks fourth in NFL history.
Only Don Shula (347), Bill Belichick (333) and George Halas (324) have ever reached 300 career wins.
Reid is 273-145-1 in the regular season and 26-16 in the playoffs during his 26-year NFL coaching career. That includes a 159-59 record with the Chiefs — 143-52 in the regular season and 16-7 in the postseason.
KELCE’S MILLENNIUM CATCH
With a 19-yard catch and run late in the third quarter, Travis Kelce became the 15th player in NFL history to reach 1,000 career receptions.
In typical Kelce fashion, he found a void in Pittsburgh’s coverage underneath in the middle of the field and raced upfield for about 10 extra yards, faking a long lateral out to DeAndre Hopkins along the way.
Kelce added a 7-yard catch later in the drive, which moved him alone into 14th place in all-time receptions passing Steelers legend Hines Ward (1,000 catches in 14 NFL seasons).
He finished the game with eight catches for 84 yards, giving him 1,004 receptions for 12,151 yards in his future Hall of Fame career.
Kelce later broke Tony Gonzalez’s franchise record with his 77th career receiving touchdown.
INJURY UPDATE
The only injury Reid singled out after the game was to running back Isiah Pacheco (ribs).
“We’ll see how bad they are,” Reid said. “On the positive side of that, he played good football along with Kareem (Hunt) and (Samaje) Perine just keeps making plays for us.”
Pacheco, who missed nine games after suffering a broken tibia in Week 2 against Cincinnati, finished with six carries for 18 yards, while Hunt racked up nine carries for 20 yards, including a 2-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter.
Perine chipped in four touches for 29, including two receptions for 20 yards.
Defensive tackle Mike Pennel also left the game with a hamstring injury.
UP NEXT
The Chiefs wrap up the regular season two weekends from now in Denver with little to play for, so expect the starters to rest for the second straight regular-season finale.
The Broncos (9-6) can clinch a playoff berth with a win Sunday at Cincinnati (7-8) — which needs to win out while Denver, Indianapolis and Miami lose out to make the playoffs.
Kansas City has a bye through the Wild Card Round, so Reid's squad won't play a meaningful game again until mid-January.
WAS TAYLOR SWIFT AT THE GAME?
Taylor Swift still hasn’t popped in to visit the Chiefs on the road this season.
She has made it to seven of Kansas City’s eight home games, but Swift hasn’t appeared at a game away from GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium since last postseason when traveled to the Chiefs’ wins at Buffalo and Baltimore as well as Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas.
The Chiefs have gone 17-3 with Swift in attendance during the last two seasons, including a 12-game win streak dating back to late last season.
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