Grant Gordon’s takeaways:
- Chiefs celebrate Christmas with vintage victory. The Chiefs weren’t home for the holidays, but they will be for the duration of their upcoming postseason run. For the fourth time in the Patrick Mahomes era, the Chiefs locked up the AFC’s No. 1 seed and did so with perhaps their most impressive showing of the season. Mahomes marched the team on a methodical eight-play opening scoring drive and later aired it out it a little like his vintage self, particularly on a 49-yarder to Justin Watson on their second drive of the game. Though the run game sputtered (69 yards), it didn’t matter. Mahomes on Christmas kept on giving through the air, finishing 29 of 38 for 320 yards, three touchdowns and zero touchdowns. Rookie Xavier Worthy, Watson and tight end Travis Kelce each caught TDs, with the latter grabbing eight balls for a game-high 84 yards. By virtue of clinching the top seed and the opening-round bye that accompanies it, this could be the last time Chiefs starters play this regular season. If it is, what a way to go into the playoffs, firing in phenomenal form and able to rest up as the quest for an unprecedented Super Bowl three-peat begins.
- It’s worrying season in Pittsburgh. Down 19 points with six minutes to play, the Steelers were facing fourth-and-2 from their 22-yard line. They weren’t waiving any Terrible Towel; they were throwing in the towel when Mike Tomlin opted to punt. Though there’s a playoff ticket already punched, Pittsburgh has now lost three in a row. Wide receiver George Pickens returned after missing the past three games with a hamstring injury and had spots during which he gave the offense some life, but Russell Wilson and Co. scored a season-low 10 points and have failed to eclipse 17 points in each of their last three, while the defense has allowed an average of 30 points in that span. Back when the club was 10-3, optimism was at a high, clinching the AFC North was on the to-do list and going on to win in the playoffs for the first time since 2016 was the mission. At this point, Tomlin’s bunch needs to turn things around in all facets for any hopes of accomplishing such an undertaking.
- K.C. pass rush delivers without Jones. Sans star Chris Jones, the Chiefs didn’t slow down when it came to harassing Wilson. Wilson was sacked a season-high five times, with Mike Danna posting two (to go along with three tackles for loss, five tackles and two QB hits). There was stellar production across Kansas City’s defensive front, with six players producing two or more QB pressures, led by Charles Omenihu — in just his fourth game back from a torn ACL — and George Karlaftis posting four apiece. With the luxury of sitting their starters for two weeks now, the Chiefs could shelve Jones and let his calf heal — and they can definitely celebrate his teammates’ performance in his absence.
Next Gen Stats Insight for Chiefs-Steelers (via NFL Pro): Patrick Mahomes averaged his quickest time to throw of the season (2.34 seconds) and second-quickest of his career against the Steelers, completing 20 of 24 pass attempts under 2.5 seconds for 190 yards and two touchdowns.
NFL Research: Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, who caught his 77th touchdown to move into first place in franchise history, became the 15th player to reach 1,000 career receptions and just the third TE. He ended Wednesday with 1,004 career catches, putting him at 14th all time as he surpassed former Pittsburgh Steeler Hines Ward (1,000).
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