St. Joseph Post
KANSAS CITY (AP) — The Chiefs were going nowhere on offense against Pittsburgh early Sunday night, so coach Andy Reid had wide receiver Mecole Hardman take a shotgun snap and hand off to running back Darrel Williams on a trick play.
Their exchange hit the ground, T.J. Watt picked it up and returned the fumble for a touchdown.
It was precisely the kind of play that should have energized the heavy underdogs, playing in a tough environment on the road, but it wound up doing something else entirely. It ticked off Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
He proceeded to throw for 404 yards and five scores, leading Kansas City to the end zone on six straight possessions after the turnover, and the Chiefs cruised through the second half for a 42-21 wild-card victory at Arrowhead Stadium Sunday night.
“We were all pissed at ourselves,” Mahomes said. “We weren't playing with enough energy. We weren't playing at a high enough level. We all motivated ourselves. Everyone was talking to each other, and we came out with a different urgency.”
Byron Pringle caught touchdown passes from both Mahomes and Kelce, and Jerick McKinnon and Tyreek Hill also had scoring catches, while the Chiefs (13-5) shut down the retiring Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers offense.
The performance not only sent Kansas City into the divisional round of the playoffs, it also turned next Sunday night's game against Buffalo — a rematch of last year's AFC title game — into appointment viewing. The Bills had a similarly easy time with their 47-17 victory over New England on Saturday.
“When you’ve been to the Super Bowl the last two years and you walk off that field with a loss last year, you want to go back and get that revenge, get that win,” Mahomes said. "We have the Bills coming here this next week and we’re going to have to play our best football.”
Roethlisberger, who acknowledged the Steelers (9-8-1) were “not a very good football team” this week, wasn't very good in his own right. The 39-year-old quarterback was 29 of 44 for 215 yards with two meaningless TD passes late in the game, providing the coda to a career that includes six Pro Bowl trips and two Super Bowl wins.
The Chiefs welcome Buffalo next Sunday night in the AFC divisional round. The Bills won in Arrowhead 38-20 in October. Mahomes threw three TD passes in a 38-24 victory for the AFC crown last January.
Kickoff in Sunday's game is set for 5:30 central. The game will be carried on KFEQ Radio (680, 95.3) and Q Country 92.7 FM in St. Joseph.