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The loss likely will be the last NFL game for the Steelers' Ben
Roethlisberger, who is expected to announce his retirement. The
39-year-old quarterback started slowly before finishing with 215
yards passing, going 29 of 44 with two touchdowns.
Kansas City, seeded No. 2 after winning nine of its last 10
regular-season games, will play at home again next Sunday in the
divisional round, hosting the Buffalo Bills. Buffalo won at
Kansas City 38-20 in Week 5.
"We've been to the Super Bowl the past two years and when you
walk off that field with a loss last year, you want to go back
and get revenge," Mahomes said on the NBC broadcast. "For us, we
understand it's a hard division and we've got the Bills coming
in here next week. We're going to have to play our best
football."
The Chiefs scored touchdowns on six straight possessions
bridging the two halves. A 1-yard lob to tackle-eligible Nick
Allegretti and a 31-yard strike to Tyreek Hill boosted the lead
to 35-7 before six minutes had elapsed in the second half.
Mahomes, who was intercepted once, went 30 of 39 on the night
and reached 400 yards passing before the end of third period.
Jerick McKinnon, who has battled injuries and played sparingly,
had 18 touches for a combined 142 yards rushing and receiving
with a TD reception. Travis Kelce had 108 yards on five catches
and threw a short TD pass on a trick play, one of two caught by
Byron Pringle.
The seventh-seeded Steelers did not crack Kansas City territory
until the second half when Roethlisberger connected for scores
to Diontae Johnson and James Washington.
"Hopefully I've passed down the legacy of what it's like to be a
Steeler," Roethlisberger said.
"He was No. 7," Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said of the
two-time Super Bowl champion quarterback. "It's been an honor
and a pleasure, man. I don't have the words."
The Chiefs gained 302 first-half yards and Mahomes fired three
touchdowns, all in the second quarter, including a 45-yarder to
Kelce with 13 seconds remaining for a 21-7 halftime margin.
"You've got to possess the ball when you're playing that team
and we didn't maintain it," Tomlin said.
McKinnon and Pringle caught first-half TDs of 4 and 12 yards,
though the Chiefs had trouble getting untracked. On their first
five possessions, they punted three times, Mahomes threw an
interception and Darrel Williams lost a fumble.
T.J. Watt returned the fumble 24 yards to provide a 7-0 lead for
the Steelers with 10:41 left in the half. However, Pittsburgh
finished the half with just 44 total net yards, two first downs
and punts on each of its seven series.
--Field Level Media
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