The Kansas City Chiefs were supposed to be enduring a tough season.
With questions over Patrick Mahomes‘ form, injuries aplenty, a defeat to the Buffalo Bills, and doubters questioning if 35-year-old Travis Kelce had aged out, there were plenty of concerns.
The schedule wasn’t kind either as head coach Andy Reid was tasked with preparing his team for three games in 11 days over a busy Christmas period.
But Santa Claus wasn’t the only Big Red to step up over the holidays and the Chiefs ended up securing the AFC’s No. 1 seed by beating the Pittsburgh Steelers 29-10 on Christmas Day to go 15-1.
NFL Network analyst Gregg Rosenthal thinks Reid had a masterplan and executed it to perfection.
“They faced a lot of different challenges over the years but it does feel like they were almost just waiting to get to the playoffs this year and that suddenly gave them a finish line,” he told talkSPORT’S Will Gavin.
“It gave them a challenge they’ve actually never had before. This is unique. I’m sure they talked about it in the locker room.
“Andy Reid said, ‘If you can win these three games, you guys get the bye, you’re off for a couple weeks. Here is our goal. You get through the [Cleveland] Browns game. You win these two games now in five days against good teams [the Steelers and Houston Texans], and you’re done.’
“It really does seem like, maybe the light at the end of the tunnel and getting to the part of the season that actually makes them feel alive, because what’s the regular season to them?
“They do have a little bit of a [New England] Patriots vibe to them, of course, the later period Patriots – they would always crank it up in mid-December and now the Chiefs are doing it.”
After struggling all season, Mahomes has shrugged off an ankle injury to play some of his best football and ensure Kansas City recorded a franchise record 15th regular season win.
The superstar quarterback also came alive in last season’s playoffs – a knack for peaking at the perfect time that Tom Brady mastered with the Patriots.
“Suddenly we get to December, and he’s playing good defenses,” Rosenthal added. “The Texans were the number one defense in DVOA.
“Entering last week, the Steelers with their pass rush, they’ve had their two best performances offensively in terms of rhythm throws and just looking like a championship unit in back-to-back weeks.
“Their success rate on throws today [Christmas Day] was almost 60%, and that was hurt by a couple of garbage time drives, and that’s just outrageous. You’re not going to stop that.
“They got eight or nine yards every play, and they did actually hit a big play, too, which was nice to see. A nice deep ball to Justin Watson. So everything was working for them.
“It’s funny it took a while to get here, but yeah, they enter as the favorites. How can they not be the favorites? I don’t care if Buffalo’s coming in there and if they look great doing it, the Chiefs are absolutely the favorites in Arrowhead.”
With their first-round bye and home advantage secured, Reid must now decide whether to rest his stars against the Denver Broncos in Week 18.
The Indianapolis Colts, Miami Dolphins, and Cincinnati Bengals need the Broncos to lose both their remaining games.
Should they lose to the Bengals in Week 18, Rosenthal thinks Denver will be facing backup Chiefs quarterback Carson Wentz and a second-string unit a week later.
“I think they will rest Patrick Mahomes and the key players just based on previous precedent,” he explained. “I trust Andy Reid has the best feel of his team, so I’m not going to have much of an opinion either way.
“They play all their guys in the preseason. Interestingly enough, more than any other team, Patrick Mahomes plays in the preseason. So they aren’t always that worried about injuries. And yet I think he will sit his guys.
“It is disappointing for all of those teams. I really thought the Colts had a real chance here when you looked at their schedule, if they could just get a little help here from the Bengals. But it is absolutely diminished.”
The Baltimore Ravens‘ win over the Houston Texans on Christmas Day means the Bills can secure the AFC’s No. 2 seed by beating the New York Jets on Sunday.
With injuries stacking up, head coach Sean McDermott would love to be in Reid’s position right now, tucking into leftovers and plotting for the postseason.
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