Chiefs grateful for playoff bye after clinching AFC's top seed - ESPN

PITTSBURGH — The Kansas City Chiefs have received a first-round playoff bye before, but Patrick Mahomes said they've never needed it quite like this season.

The Chiefs clinched the AFC's top playoff seed, which means they'll get the first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs, by beating the Pittsburgh Steelers 29-10 on Wednesday to reach 15-1.

«It's just going to be nice getting guys healthy,'' said Mahomes, who was 29-of-38 for 320 yards and three touchdowns. „I think this was the earliest [regular-season] bye I've ever had just in general. To kind of have this grind of whatever it is — I think we had our bye Week 6 — so it's like almost 10 weeks of just football and grinding and then this short schedule at the very end of the year.

“We have some guys banged up, and to get them back healthy now and we'll see how Week 18 goes and who plays and who doesn't play. That's up to coach [Andy Reid]. But even getting this little break, getting back healthy and then getting ourselves ready to go for the playoffs, it was super important.''

Mahomes played against the Steelers with a high-ankle sprain suffered two weeks earlier. Defensive tackle Chris Jones didn't play in Pittsburgh because of a strained calf. The Chiefs are hopeful offensive tackle D.J. Humphries, who missed the past three games because of a sore hamstring, can be ready to play when the postseason begins.

The Chiefs, by winning on Christmas Day, survived a stretch of three games in 11 days. They won all three but Mahomes said the Chiefs spent a considerable amount of energy doing so.

»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