The Kansas City Chiefs clinched the top seed in the AFC with Patrick Mahomes throwing three touchdowns in a dominant 29-10 Christmas Day win at the Pittsburgh Steelers. The defending Super Bowl champions will now have a first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. This victory also spelled trouble for the Steelers, who suffered their third straight loss, meaning they no longer control their own destiny in the race for the AFC North divisional title.
The Chiefs (15-1) are hitting their prime form just as the playoffs approach, whereas the Steelers (10-6) have now lost three consecutive games. Despite this, the Steelers have also clinched a postseason berth but find themselves trailing the Baltimore Ravens.
Mahomes was dominant throughout the match, finishing with 320 yards on 29 of 38 passing. He set the tone early, connecting with Xavier Worthy on a seven-yard touchdown pass and then finding Justin Watson on an 11-yard touchdown pass to establish a 13-0 lead within the first quarter.
The Steelers momentarily thought they could make a comeback when Jaylen Warren ran the ball across the goal line; unfortunately, the touchdown was nullified by a holding penalty. The mood darkened for Pittsburgh when quarterback Russell Wilson was intercepted by Justin Reid on the very next play. Nevertheless, the Steelers managed to grind out some progress, with Wilson capping off a 72-yard, 11-play drive with a one-yard scoring rush.
After the teams exchanged field goals, the Chiefs pulled away decisively during the fourth quarter. A two-yard rush by Kareem Hunt gave Kansas City a comfortable 22-10 lead, and Mahomes later connected with his go-to target, Travis Kelce, on a 12-yard touchdown pass to finalize the score. Kelce's eight receptions for 84 yards not only contributed to the win but also saw him surpass the 1,000 receptions mark, making him only the third tight end to achieve this milestone.
Mahomes was pleased with the team's overall performance, noting, "I thought it was a full team performance. Defense stepped up, offense stepped up, everybody had their imprint on the game. We are getting healthy at the right time, the big guy (Kelce) leads us off but we have got guys everywhere so it's nice."
On the flip side, the mood was quite different for Steelers' head coach Mike Tomlin, who candidly assessed his team's lackluster showing. "That sucked, to be blunt. Not the type of ball we wanna play and really kind of eerily similar to our last performance. We are not doing the fundamental things well enough. The bottom line is it's junior varsity. Not good enough. We need to own it but also look at what we need to do different," Tomlin said.
Meanwhile, the Ravens, who remain at the forefront of the AFC North race, showed no signs of faltering. Reigning NFL Most Valuable Player Lamar Jackson showcased his exceptional abilities during their emphatic 31-2 victory at Houston, throwing for two touchdowns and rushing for another touchdown, finishing with 168 passing yards and extending his legacy as the NFL's all-time leading quarterback for rushing yards with 6,109 yards, surpassing Michael Vick.
Jackson performed spectacularly, running for 87 yards on four carries. Derrick Henry opened the scoring for the Texans, but after Henry's safety allowed Houston to score two points, Jackson and the Ravens quickly regained control. Jackson's improvisation skills were on display as he threw a touchdown pass to Isaiah Likely and, shortly after, sprinted 48 yards to seal the game.
With one more regular-season game left against the Cincinnati Bengals, the Ravens will be aiming for victory to secure the AFC North title. The atmosphere around the playoffs is heating up, with the Chiefs firmly establishing themselves as the team to beat.
