Patrick Mahomes passed for 258 yards and three touchdowns on Sunday as the Kansas City Chiefs claimed their eighth straight win and beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 36-10 to secure a playoff berth with their sixth consecutive AFC West title.
The Chiefs (11-4), who averaged 13.3 points in a game during their winning streak, scored three takeaways and didn't allow the Steelers (7-7-1) to score a touchdown until 2:54 .
Kansas City overcame a rash of COVID-19 inactives including Travis Kelce, Nick Bolton and Harrison Butcher.
The Chiefs scored on their first four possessions and generated a total of 381 yards for the game, maintaining their position to be the top seed in the AFC playoffs.
Mahomes completed 23 out of 30 passes, with Byron Pringle getting two points. Pringle caught a team-high six pass for 75 yards. Kansas City ran for 127 yards but lost to Clyde Edwards-Heller with a collarbone injury.
Ben Roethlisberger never kept pace with his Pittsburgh receivers, scoring 23 of 35 for 159 yards. Nazi Harris ran for 93 yards on 19 carries.
Andy Reid scored his 102nd win as Chiefs coach, passing Marty Schottenheimer for the second most wins in franchise history, behind only Hank Straum (124).
Mahomes chased down the Chiefs with three touchdowns in the first half and a 23-0 margin at the break. Kansas City gained 112 yards in the first quarter, using 14 plays on an orderly 73-yard drive that Edwards-Hellair capped with a 1-yard burst.
Charvarius Ward then blocked a pass by Roethlisberger from scrimmage on the next play, and the Chiefs went for 49 yards as Mahomes fired a 5-yard touchdown to Pringle.
An 8-yard TD strike came for Mecole Hardman with 2:13 in the half after a 44-yard field goal by Elliot Fry. It gave the Chiefs a streak of seven straight scoring drives with their overtime win over the Los Angeles Chargers last week.
Mahomes covered 205 yards in the first half, while Roethlisberger countered with only 88. The Chiefs took a 17-6 advantage in the first down for the half.