DARREL WILLIAMS

Patrick Mahomes threw for 404 yards and five touchdowns, Travis Kelce caught a TD pass and threw another one, and the Chiefs sent Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger into his expected retirement with a 42-21 win in the wild-card round of the playoffs Sunday night.

The Steelers had running back Najee Harris and wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster available for their wild-card playoff game against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday night.

The last time the Kansas City Chiefs played the Pittsburgh Steelers in the playoffs, Tyreek Hill was a wide-eyed rookie wide receiver, Chris Jones was learning the ropes at defensive tackle and Travis Kelce was just becoming one of the NFL's best tight ends.

The Kansas City Chiefs beat the Denver Broncos 28-24 on Saturday thanks to an 86-yard fumble return by linebacker Nick Bolton in the fourth quarter that put them ahead for good.

Evan McPherson kicked a 20-yard field goal as time ran out, and the Cincinnati Bengals earned their first AFC North title and postseason appearance in six years with a wild 34-31 win over the Kansas City Chiefs.

Patrick Mahomes threw for 258 yards and three touchdowns, Byron Pringle caught two of the TD passes, and the Chiefs beat the Steelers 36-10 on Sunday to clinch their sixth consecutive AFC West title.

Patrick Mahomes threw his first two touchdown passes in nearly a month, Clyde Edwards-Helaire added two more scores on the ground, and the Kansas City Chiefs forced five turnovers in rolling to a record-setting 48-9 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders.

Patrick Mahomes threw five touchdown passes and returned to his usual form after a surprisingly shaky stretch this season, and the Kansas City Chiefs moved into first place in the AFC West with a 41-14 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders.

Patrick Mahomes threw for 397 yards and engineered three second-half touchdown drives to compensate for a pair of interceptions, leading the Kansas City Chiefs to a 31-13 comeback victory at Washington that got them back to.

Patrick Mahomes threw five touchdown passes three different ways, including three to Tyreek Hill, and the Kansas City Chiefs beat the Philadelphia Eagles 42-30 on Sunday.

Patrick Mahomes led the Chiefs to touchdowns on his only two chances with the ball as Kansas City beat the Minnesota Vikings 28-24.

Chad Henne and rookie Shane Buechele threw touchdown passes to help the Kansas City Chiefs beat the Arizona Cardinals 17-10 in a preseason game Friday night.

History was made, just as it always is, on a picture-perfect Sunday evening at the Super Bowl. Brady adding to his record with a seventh Super Bowl title, but with the long-suffering Bucs, not the front-running New England Patriots? That the Chiefs waded through all that to make it back to the Super Bowl was not all that big a surprise. Brady earned his fifth Super Bowl MVP award. It was, as much as anything, a nod to the new normal — life with coronavirus — meshing with the old normal — Tom Brady holding a Super Bowl trophy.

The Buccaneers didn't even give him time to skim their defense in the Super Bowl. He was 26 of 49 for 270 yards and two interceptions in a 31-9 blowout that denied the Chiefs back-to-back titles. “They had a good game plan,” said Mahomes, whose quarterback rating of 52.3 was by far the worst of his career. The first-half numbers were striking: Mahomes was 9 of 19 for 67 yards, while Tampa Bay counterpart Tom Brady had dominated the Chiefs defense for 140 yards passing and three TDs in staking the Buccaneers to a 21-6 lead. “To the last snap,” Reid said, “he was trying to win that football game.”It was just that kind of night for Mahomes.

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes celebrates after the AFC championship NFL football game against the Buffalo Bills, Sunday, Jan. 24, 2021, in Kansas City, Mo. – It took the Kansas City Chiefs five frustrating decades to make their third Super Bowl appearance. That’s not how you’re supposed to play football.”It capped a bitter night for the Bills, who had reached their first AFC title game since beating Kansas City at home on Jan. 1, 1994. You don't beat Kansas City by kicking field goals from the 3-yard line, though. He’s fast.”Any hopes the Bills had of a comeback were dashed when Rashad Fenton picked off a tipped pass deep in Kansas City territory.

(AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)The AFC title game is returning to a familiar place in Kansas City. The question all week will be whether Patrick Mahomes will be able to play quarterback for the Chiefs. Coach Andy Reid’s gutsy call helped make sure the Chiefs would become the first team to host the AFC championship game for the third straight year. New Orleans (13-4) is hosting Tampa Bay (12-5) later Sunday for the right to visit Green Bay in the NFC title game next week. The win sends Rodgers to his fifth NFC title game as starting quarterback and the first at home since taking over from Brett Favre in 2008.

– Patrick Mahomes had enough wits about him after a concussion knocked the star quarterback from the Kansas City Chiefs' divisional-round playoff win over the Cleveland Browns to get a rather clever hashtag trending on Twitter. It was a reference to his backup, Chad Henne, who came on when Mahomes got hurt midway through the third quarter Sunday. Now, the question is whether Mahomes will be cleared to play the Buffalo Bills in the AFC title game next Sunday. He passed all the deals he needed to pass and we'll see where it goes from here,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said after the game. 1 seed and first-round bye, so Reid elected to sit Mahomes and most of his starters for the otherwise meaningless game.

“But if teams are going to play us like this, we’ve got to show we can run the football.”Mission accomplished. Led by Edwards-Helaire’s 161 yards rushing, the Chiefs finished with 245 — the most since Mahomes took over as starter in 2017. The Chiefs, who were originally scheduled to play three games in 11 days, wound up having two more days of rest than the Bills. During that drive, Buffalo’s Justin Zimmer stripped the ball from Edwards-Helaire at the Kansas City 30. Kansas City had four drives of 10 plays or more and dominated time of possession by more than 15 minutes.

The New York Jets have surprisingly released Bell, ending a disappointing tenure after less than two full seasons. Spagnuolo already had plenty of headaches trying to stop Bell when the two-time All-Pro running back was with the Pittsburgh Steelers. That's why Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy was quick to say: “I know there's been some discussion about a particular player. But Edwards-Helaire had just 38 yards rushing the following week, 64 yards rushing each of the next two and 40 yards rushing last Sunday against the Raiders — when the Chiefs lost 40-32 to end their franchise-record 13-game winning streak. But Clyde is doing a heck of a job.”He also can't do it alone, and that's another reason the Chiefs signed Bell.

Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Rashad Fenton, right, breaks up a pass intended for Las Vegas Raiders fullback Alec Ingold, left, during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 11, 2020, in Kansas City. But he was simply spectacular with a relatively quiet 17,000 fans in the building, helping to guide the Raiders to their first win in Kansas City since Oct. 28, 2012. There wasn't nearly the same amount of offense in the second half — especially out of Kansas City. Jeff Heath intercepted Mahomes on fourth down a few minutes later, and Jacobs helped to seal the win for Las Vegas. Las Vegas is off before facing the Buccaneers on Oct. 25.

The Patriots, who can extend their NFL record to 11 consecutive playoff berths with a win, will also be missing a key offensive cog. ___KANSAS CITY-NEW ENGLANDChiefs: RB Damien Williams, CB Rashad Fenton, CB Morris Claiborne, OL Jackson Barton, OL Nick Allegretti, TE Deon Yelder, QB Chad Henne. Patriots: C Ted Karras, DL Byron Cowart, CB Joejuan Williams, QB Cody Kessler, OL Korey Cunningham, TE Ryan Izzo, RB Damien Harris. Bills: RB T.J. Yeldon, S Dean Marlowe, OG Ike Boettger, RT Ty Nsekhe, WR Duke Williams, TE Tommy Sweeney, DT Vincent Taylor. Packers: WR Ryan Grant, CB Kevin King, RB Dexter Williams, CB Tony Brown, CB Ka'dar Hollman, G/T Adam Pankey, T Yosh Nijman.