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Grant Gordon’s insights:

1. The Chiefs celebrate Christmas with a vintage victory. The Chiefs weren’t home for the holidays, but will be for the duration of their upcoming postseason run. For the fourth time in the Patrick Mahomes During this era, the Chiefs secured the No. 1 seed in the AFC while turning in perhaps their most impressive performance of the season. Mahomes led the team on a methodical eight-play opening scoring drive and later let them look a little like their old self, particularly on a 49-yarder Justin Watson on their second drive of the game. Even though the running game sputtered (69 yards), it didn’t matter. Mahomes on Christmas continued to yield through the air, finishing 29 of 38 for 320 yards, three touchdowns and zero touchdowns. beginner Xavier WorthyWatson and tightened Travis Kelce Each caught touchdowns, with the latter catching eight balls for a game-high 84 yards. Due to reaching the top seed and the accompanying bye in the opening round, this could be the last time the Chiefs’ starters play this regular season. If so, what a way to get to the playoffs, shoot in phenomenal form and rest as the search for an unprecedented Super Bowl three-goal begins.
2. It’s a worrisome season in Pittsburgh. Trailing by 19 points with six minutes to play, the Steelers faced fourth-and-2 from their 22-yard line. They didn’t forego a terrible towel; They threw in the towel when Mike Tomlin decided to punt. Despite already having a playoff ticket, Pittsburgh has now lost three straight. Wide receiver George Pickens returned after missing the last three games with a hamstring injury and had periods where he breathed some life into the offense, but Russell Wilson and Co. scored a season-low of 10 points and were unable to surpass 17 points in each of the last three games, while the defense allowed an average of 30 points during this period. Back when the club was 10-3, optimism was high, winning the AFC North was on the to-do list and the first playoff win since 2016 was the mission. At this point, Tomlin’s force must turn things around in every facet to have any hope of making such an endeavor a reality.
3. KC pass rush delivers without Jones. Without a star Chris Jonesthe Chiefs didn’t let up when it came to harassing Wilson. Wilson has been sacked a total of five times this season, with Mike Danna being sacked twice (plus three tackles for a loss, five tackles and two QB hits). There was excellent performance across Kansas City’s defensive front, with six players generating two or more QB pressures, led by Charles Omenihu – in just his fourth game after returning from a torn ACL – and George Karlaftis post four per person. With the luxury of sitting out their starters for two weeks now, the Chiefs could shelve Jones and let his calf heal — and they can certainly celebrate his teammates’ performance in his absence.

Next-Gen Stats Insights for the Chiefs-Steelers (via NFL Pro): Patrick Mahomes averaged his fastest throwing time of the season (2.34 seconds) and the second-fastest 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 tied for first in franchise history with his 77th touchdown, became the 15th player to reach 1,000 career receptions and just the third TE. He finished Wednesday with 1,004 career catches, ranking 14th all-time, surpassing former Pittsburgh Steeler Hines Ward (1,000).