The Chiefs are grateful for the playoff bye after securing the AFC’s top seed

PITTSBURGH – The Kansas City Chiefs have already received a bye in the first round of the playoffs, but Patrick Mahomes said they’ve never needed it more this season.

The Chiefs clinched the No. 1 spot in the AFC playoffs with a 29-10 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Wednesday, meaning they have a first-round bye and home-field advantage in the playoffs and are 15-1.

“It’ll just be nice to get the guys healthy,” said Mahomes, who was 29 of 38 for 320 yards and three touchdowns. “I think that was the earliest (regular season) bye I’ve ever had,” generally. Sort of having that hustle, whatever it is – I think we had our bye week in Week 6 – so it’s almost 10 weeks of just football and grinding and then this short schedule at the very end of the year.

“We’ve got a few guys that have been loopy and now to get them healthy we’ll see how Week 18 goes and who plays and who doesn’t. That’s because of coach (Andy Reid). But even if we get that little break, “It was super important to get healthy again and then get ready for the playoffs.”

Mahomes played against the Steelers with a high ankle sprain he suffered two weeks earlier. Defensive tackle Chris Jones did not play in Pittsburgh due to a calf strain. The Chiefs are confident offensive tackle DJ Humphries, who has missed the last three games with a sore hamstring, can be ready to play when the postseason begins.

The Christmas Day victory took the Chiefs through three games in 11 days. They won all three, but Mahomes said the Chiefs expended a significant amount of energy doing so.

“It showed the strength of the team and I think we obviously got better as the games went on,” Mahomes said. “The boys are mentally and physically strong and we played against some really good football teams.”, (had) some hard-fought battles.

“Number 1 is important. It’s like winning a playoff game, so I was happy to do it.”

The 19-point lead was the Chiefs’ largest of the season. They had 389 yards, more than in all but one other game this season. Even without Jones, they sacked Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson five times, intercepted him once and forced a Pittsburgh fumble.

Reid called it the Chiefs’ most complete game this season.

“All three phases went well,” Reid said. “It’s important that we continue like this and then keep getting better and not flatten out.” “Don’t go backwards, keep climbing.”

Mahomes was encouraged by the passing game. The Chiefs recently brought a wide receiver, Hollywood Brown, back into their lineup after a season-ending injury and expanded the role of another, rookie Xavier Worthy.

The two combined for 12 catches, 125 yards and a touchdown against the Steelers.

“We’ve reached the perfect point,” Mahomes said. “We were getting better and better before Hollywood came here.” Xavier started playing better and was more confident. I have better chemistry with him. Other people who moved up started doing plays, and then you add Hollywood into the mix and it kind of puts everyone in their roles perfectly. You saw that today. I don’t know the exact stats, but it seemed like we distributed the ball really well and guys were making plays, and when you have so many weapons out there, it’s hard for the defense to explain that.

“We feel like we can always get better, but obviously at the end of the year, especially offensively, we’re playing our best football and getting the guys healthy and we’re looking forward to that. We’re going to keep working.” “This isn’t the end, this is just the beginning, and we’re going to keep working to get better as we go into the playoffs.”

Tight end Travis Kelce had eight catches and his 12-yard scoring catch in the fourth quarter set a team record for career touchdown receptions. Kelce has 77 career TDs, passing Tony Gonzalez who finished with 76.

After his touchdown, Kelce executed Gonzalez’s signature TD move and shot the ball over the goal post. The play resulted in a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, although Harrison Butker still scored from 48 yards instead of 33 yards after the attempt.

“I knew the score and I knew my husband Harrison turned his back on it (point after),” Kelce said. “So it shows Tony some love and is just a big tribute to the person he was in it, not just that organization, but who he was for football, and we know how iconic it was that he was there The ball sank over the goal post the entire time. I did my best. “I don’t know if I did it the same way he did.”

The Chiefs still have one regular season game remaining, in Week 18 against the Broncos in Denver, although it will be meaningless in terms of ranking or playoff seeding. Reid wouldn’t say how the Chiefs would approach the game.

If he decides to give Mahomes, Jones, Kelce and other key players a break, that would mean they would have a break of over three weeks before the playoffs begin.

But Mahomes said this is a good problem for the Chiefs to have.

“It’s totally up to the coach,” Mahomes said. “I’m definitely going to prepare (to play against the Broncos).

“I’m going to (plan) to start, and if coach wants me to go out and play, then I’ll go out and play. If he doesn’t do that, I’ll sit back. I trust this coach completely.” “Reid knows what he’s doing and has for a long time.”