‘Santa’ Reid gifts Chiefs home-field advantage with win over Steelers

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Published Dec 25, 2024  •  3 minute read

Patrick Mahomes (15) and Travis Kelce (87) of the Kansas City Chiefs speak with a Netflix reporter after the game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Acrisure Stadium on Wednesday, Dec. 25, 2024, in Pittsburgh, Pa. Photo by Joe Sargent /Getty Images

Ho-ho-home field advantage.

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The Kansas City Chiefs clinched the AFC’s top seed on Christmas Day with a 29-10 win over the host Pittsburgh Steelers, prompting head coach Andy Reid to dress up like jolly old Saint Nick during the post-game celebration.

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“That’s what I’m talking about,” Reid says in a video posted to social media as his players roar with approval. “Merry Christmas, dudes, I’m proud of you. As a present, you get home-field advantage.”

“Yessir,” one of the players, who sounds an awful lot like star quarterback Patrick Mahomes, shouts in the background.

Mahomes, who in the video was decked out in a luxury Santa jacket after the win alongside tight end Travis Kelce, passed for 320 yards and three touchdowns and the Kansas City Chiefs locked up the top seed in the AFC for the fourth time in seven seasons on Wednesday.

The two-time defending Super Bowl champions raced to an early 13-point lead and were never really threatened by the Steelers (10-6), who have dropped three straight as their chances of capturing the AFC North took another hit.

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Mahomes connected on first-half scoring tosses to Xavier Worthy and Justin Watson and Kansas City’s defence did most of the rest even with perennial All-Pro defensive end Chris Jones sitting out while nursing a calf injury. The Chiefs sacked Russell Wilson five times, forced two turnovers and hardly looked gassed while playing for the third time in 11 days.

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Kelce caught eight passes for 84 yards while becoming the third tight end in NFL history to reach 1,000 receptions, joining Hall of Famer Tony Gonzalez and Jason Witten. Kelce sealed Kansas City’s fifth straight victory with a 12-yard touchdown grab early in the fourth quarter.

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The 35-year-old celebrated by dunking the ball over the goalpost, which drew an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty and groans from a capacity crowd at Acrisure Stadium that has grown used to seeing Mahomes toy with the hometown team. Mahomes is now 4-0 against the Steelers over his career, with 17 touchdowns against one interception.

Russell Wilson threw for 205 yards for Pittsburgh. George Pickens finished with three receptions for 50 yards after missing three games with a hamstring injury. It wasn’t nearly enough for the Steelers, who went 0-3 during a brutal three-game stretch against Super Bowl contenders Philadelphia, Baltimore and Kansas City.

Perhaps more troubling than the losses is the way they played out. The Steelers lost each game by at least 14 points and could start the playoffs on the road after playing fast and loose with the two-game division lead they had just three weeks ago.

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Mahomes, hardly bothered by the ankle injury he suffered against Cleveland, led the Chiefs to touchdowns on their first two drives, finding Worthy in the flat for a 7-yard score and hitting Watson in the back corner of the end zone to make it 13-0.

One sequence late in the first quarter symbolized a frustrating day for Pittsburgh. A holding penalty negated a short touchdown run by Jaylen Warren and Wilson threw into triple coverage in the end zone on the next snap. Kansas City’s Justin Reid had little trouble grabbing it to end the threat.

The Steelers drew within six twice at 13-7 and 16-10, but never had the ball with a chance to take the lead in the second half. Instead, the Chiefs — who spent most of the first three months of the season squeaking by most weeks — methodically pulled away.

Kareem Hunt ran over from 2 yards on the first snap of the fourth quarter to make it 22-10. Pat Freiermuth then fumbled on Pittsburgh’s next possession. Kansas City linebacker Nick Bolton fell on it and Mahomes needed just four plays to float a pass to a wide-open Kelce to put it out of reach.

— With files from The Associated Press

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