With the AFC's top seed now in hand, the Chiefs can breathe for a week.
There's perhaps no better time than now to do so. Kansas City already worked on Christmas, pulling away from the Steelers in the second half on Wednesday for a 29-10 road win. It was arguably their best victory of the 2024 season, providing fans with more offensive juice than the Chiefs have shown for most of this campaign.
Amid Kansas City's second-half display, history was also made: Tight end Travis Kelce passed Hall of Famer Tony Gonzalez on the Chiefs' all-time touchdown receptions leaderboard (77). Fittingly, he celebrated by dunking the ball over the goal post, paying homage to Gonzalez's signature celebration -- and drawing a 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalty.
It was worth the risk to Kelce.
"I knew the score, and I knew that my guy Harrison [Butker] had my back on the [PAT],'' Kelce said afterward, via ESPN. "So, it's showing Tony some love and just a big tribute to who he's been in this, not only this organization but who he's been for football, and we know how iconic it was that he would dunk the ball over the goalpost all the time. I gave my best effort. I don't know if I did it quite like him.''
Best effort is an accurate way to describe the entire day for the Chiefs, who overcame multiple self-inflicted setbacks in the first half to hit their stride in the final two quarters. Patrick Mahomes finished 29 of 38 for 320 yards and three touchdowns, spreading the ball among eight different pass-catchers (including recent addition Marquise “Hollywood” Brown) against a Steelers defense that is known for giving opposing quarterbacks trouble.
Instead, Mahomes and the Chiefs found ways to keep moving the ball just as they have all season. This one, though, seemed to suggest they might finally be figuring it out offensively, leading to Kansas City's most complete showing in 2024.
"We built up to the perfect spot,'' Mahomes said. "We've gotten better and better before Hollywood got here. Xavier [Worthy] started playing better, being more confident. I've got a better chemistry with him. Other guys that stepped up started making plays, and then you throw Hollywood in there and it kind of sets everybody perfectly in their roles. You saw that today. I don't know the exact stats, but it seemed like we spread the ball around really well and guys made plays; and when you have that many weapons out there, it's hard for defense to account for.
"We feel like we can continue to get better and better. But obviously, we're playing, especially offensively, our best football at the end of the year and getting guys healthy, and we're excited for it. We're going to keep working. This isn't the end. This is just the beginning, and we will continue to work to get even better as we go into the playoffs.''
Although he didn't look like it when he ran for a touchdown Saturday or made magic in Pittsburgh on Wednesday, Mahomes could use a couple of weeks of rest for his injured ankle. So too could defensive tackle Chris Jones, who didn't play against Pittsburgh because of a calf strain, and veteran tackle D.J. Humphries (hamstring).
Luckily, the Chiefs have earned the right to now consider a respite. After playing three games in 11 days, they've emerged 3-0 in that stretch and 15-1 overall.
"It showed the toughness of the team, and I think we got better as, obviously, the games went on,'' Mahomes said. "The guys, they're mentally tough and they're physically tough, and we played some really good football teams, [had] some hard-fought battles.
"That No. 1 seed is important. It's like winning a playoff game, and so I was happy to get that done.''
