MECOLE HARDMAN

Patrick Mahomes walked onto the field for the start of the Kansas City Chiefs’ mandatory three-day minicamp with his right tackle standing off to the side in a bucket hat and his Pro Bowl left tackle nowhere to be found.

Kansas City’s 42-36 win over Buffalo capped a divisional round in which the other three games were decided on final-play field goals giving the visitors wins.

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 last time the Chiefs played the Steelers, record-setting wide receiver Tyreek Hill had just recovered from COVID-19 and star tight end Travis Kelce was sitting at home and still dealing with the virus.

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.

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.

Another 21 NFL players were placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list Tuesday, including Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Tyreek Hill, cornerback Rashad Fenton and tight end Blake Bell.

Travis Kelce scored on a 34-yard pass from Patrick Mahomes in overtime and the Kansas City Chiefs rallied for a 34-28 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers.

Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes saw Travis Kelce wide open, but he instead threw a deep pass to Mecole Hardman that fell incomplete. Mahomes and his coach stand by that decision. Here’s why.

Harrison Butker hit a pair of fourth-quarter field goals, including the go-ahead 34-yarder with 1:07 left, and the Kansas City Chiefs scrambled their way to a 20-17 comeback win over the New York Giants.

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.

The Kansas City Chiefs have never been shy about giving players with questionable backgrounds a second chance.

Justin Herbert’s touchdown toss to Mike Williams with 32 seconds to go lifted the Los Angeles Chargers to a 30-24 victory over the Chiefs.

The Kansas City Chiefs already have spent the offseason rebuilding an offensive line ravaged by injuries and then dominated by Tampa Bay in the Super Bowl.

Now, the Chiefs will have to take a much different tact if they want to make their third consecutive Super Bowl. While their core group is signed for the next several years, the Chiefs have a raft of important contributors that are due to hit free agency. Ad“Like all teams, we'll get busy here going down the road,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said Monday. “Every year is different because of your cap situation and what you have and what you need,” Chiefs general manager Brett Veach said. WELCOME BACKThe Chiefs should get some help from guys that were injured or opted out of this past season.

– The Kansas City Chiefs had a pretty good idea what kind of COVID-19 protocols they would have to wade through in defense of their Super Bowl championship the moment they finally gathered for in-person training camp. And it was Burkholder who helped the Chiefs navigate the season with few positive tests and just one postponement — the fault of the other team — as they closed in on a Super Bowl repeat. Those were things we just didn't know, and it was a process to figure out how to do this.”AdUltimately, the Chiefs and Buccaneers are in the Super Bowl in part because they figured it out as well as anybody. It's easy to follow the example of Tom Brady, with six Super Bowl rings behind him and the Hall of Fame in front of him, when he demands the Buccaneers mask up. The same with Patrick Mahomes, the reigning Super Bowl MVP, when he tells the Chiefs to skip the family gatherings around the holidays.

It was an enormous mistake in the opening minutes of the AFC championship game on Sunday, and Chiefs coach Andy Reid could have easily given his young wide receiver the cold shoulder. They're going to keep me up, keep me motivated — make sure I don't have my head down,” Hardman said. They have been without Sammy Watkins since Week 16 because of a calf injury, and the veteran wide receiver was a surprise scratch on Sunday, putting pressure on Hardman and fellow wide receiver Byron Pringle to continue to pick up the slack. “We are a group of guys that want to be perfect and strive for that perfection, no matter what we do. I think we're going to take that same mentality into the Super Bowl.”___More AP NFL: https://apnews.com/NFL and https://twitter.com/AP_NFL

Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) is sacked by Kansas City Chiefs defensive end Frank Clark (55) during the second half of the AFC championship NFL football game, Sunday, Jan. 24, 2021, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)Josh Allen led the Buffalo Bills to their first AFC championship game in 27 years. The Bills were unable to solve the Chiefs twice this season. They were trampled in a 26-17 loss in Week 6 in a game rookie Clyde Edwards-Helaire had 161 yards rushing. On the bright side, the Bills made tremendous strides over last season, which ended with Buffalo squandering a 16-0 third-quarter lead in a wild-card playoff loss at Houston.

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.

The Kansas City Chiefs won their first NFL title since 1970 when they beat San Francisco in last year's Super Bowl. What we get Sunday is a matchup of dynamic offenses and overlooked defenses, the top two teams in the conference. Kansas City (15-2) has the confidence of a reigning champion and a charisma few NFL teams can match. That could provide an edge over Bills rookie Tyler Bass — except that Bass has been very reliable all season. Buffalo punter Corey Bojorquez and Kansas City rookie Johnny Townsend were two of the most dependable in the AFC.

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) passes in the first half of an NFL football game against the New Orleans Saints in New Orleans, Sunday, Dec. 20, 2020. (AP Photo/Brett Duke)NEW ORLEANS – Patrick Mahomes' repertoire of side-arm throws, basketball-style push passes, underhanded flips and renowned improvisation humbled yet another highly regarded defense. Mahomes passed for 254 yards and three touchdowns, and the Kansas City Chiefs extended their winning streak to nine games with a 32-29 victory over the New Orleans Saints on Sunday. Bell's score came one play after Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan was flagged for a personal foul and ejected for punching offensive lineman Andrew Wylie. With two timeouts remaining, the Saints kicked deep, but could not prevent Mahomes and Co. from running out the clock.

(AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – Patrick Mahomes took a 30-yard sack before he got the Kansas City Chiefs going in the right direction. The Chiefs overcame a 10-point deficit and four turnovers Sunday to clinch their fifth consecutive AFC West title by beating Miami 33-27. But he threw for 393 yards and two scores to help the Chiefs (12-1) earn their eighth consecutive victory. It was the Chiefs’ second consecutive comeback at Hard Rock Stadium, where they won the Super Bowl in February despite Mahomes' two interceptions. He threw an interception, bobbled a snap and took the big sack to set up the Dolphins’ first touchdown.

– Patrick Mahomes did just about everything for the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday. On the second, Mahomes claimed to see Hill “a little banged up” and decided to carry him — horse-and-jockey style — back to the Kansas City sideline. While the Jets answered with the first of three first-half field goals, the Chiefs kept scoring touchdowns. Mahomes hit Robinson from 26 yards out for his fourth TD pass, giving Kansas City a 28-9 lead late in the third quarter. Mahomes capped his big day with his second touchdown throw to Hill early in the fourth.

– The Kansas City Chiefs will be without offensive lineman Kelechi Osemele and wide receiver Sammy Watkins when they visit the Buffalo Bills on Monday night for a game that was pushed back because of COVID-19 protocols. “I did it last year when Tyreek (Hill) went down and Sammy went down one time, too. The Bills had their game against Tennessee pushed to this past Tuesday night, forcing the league to scrap any Thursday night game by moving their matchup with Kansas City to late afternoon Monday. It will be the third time already this season that the Chiefs will play on Monday night. The Chiefs opened the season on Thursday night, which means they've played just two Sunday games this season.

Kansas City Chiefs defensive end Frank Clark (55) celebrates after sacking New England Patriots quarterback Brian Hoyer (2) during the first half of an NFL football game, Monday, Oct. 5, 2020, in Kansas City. – It's hard enough to slow down Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs under the best of circumstances. It wasn't until Tyrann Mathieu took an interception back for a touchdown in the fourth that Kansas City clinched its 26-10 victory at Arrowhead Stadium. Later on Saturday, it came out that Chiefs practice squad QB Jordan Ta'amu also had tested positive, forcing the NFL to postpone the game. Chiefs: Defensive tackle Chris Jones was out with a groin injury that sidelined him in practice last week.

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) jumps to pass the ball during the first half of an NFL football game against the Baltimore Ravens, Monday, Sept. 28, 2020, in Baltimore. The common thread was that just about everything he did worked for the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs, who rolled past the Baltimore Ravens 34-20 on Monday night. He stepped up big," Kansas City coach Andy Reid said. Kansas City followed with a three-and-out, but Baltimore simply could not contain Mahomes for long. A 49-yard touchdown pass from Mahomes to Mecole Hardman put the Chiefs up by 17 at halftime.

The two Chiefs wide receivers have traded barbs about their speed ever since Hardman was chosen in the second round of last year's draft. I'm just lucky to have both of them, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes said during a break from training camp meetings and workouts this week. I'd rather them just run down the sidelines scoring touchdowns during the game week.All of the Chiefs' wide receivers did plenty of that last year. And the ability of Hardman and Hill in particular to stop on a dime, change directions and immediately accelerate to full speed is uncanny. It's the way I got to the Kansas City Chiefs.It's a big reason why Hardman made it to the Chiefs.

Mecole Hardman says he has been dreaming of buying his parents, particularly his mother, a home for almost 13 years. The wide receiver was selected in the second round of the 2019 NFL Draft in April and is days away from training camp, but he still made time for family this week. Hardman told CNN on Thursday. "I mean it just makes you feel good as a mother to know that, your kids would go to this depth." In the video, Hardman says it's a good feeling and he's looking forward to helping her get the furniture moved in.