Chiefs clinch top seed in AFC playoffs
LAS VEGAS — The Kansas City Chiefs don’t believe in simply wrapping up the AFC’s top seed. They want to have fun doing it.
Late in the first half Saturday against the Las Vegas Raiders, the Chiefs huddled and spun in a circle, then broke out into a shotgun formation with running back Jerick McKinnon taking a direct snap. He faked a handoff to Kadarius Toney and pitched to quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who then threw to Toney for a nineyard touchdown.
But it didn’t count. A holding penalty brought back the play. The Chiefs then scored anyway to take full control of what became a 31-13 victory.
The play is called the Snow Globe or Arctic Circle, depending on who is asked. But, even if it didn’t count, it underscored the Chiefs’ creativity and willingness to have fun, even while playing for playoff positioning and a week off.
“We talked about it on the side, ‘Let’s see if we can get some confusion going and throw something back,’ ” Mahomes said. “It worked.
We just had the holding penalty. We got some good things going for the playoffs, and whatever we run has to work.”
That, Chiefs coach Andy Reid said, was the bottom line. Even if they wanted to make it fun.
“You do, but you want to score too,” Reid said. “It’s not fun when you’re not doing that.”
Almost lost was the NFL record for total yards in a season that Mahomes set. He passed for 202 yards and rushed for 29 against the Raiders, giving him 5,608 total yards this season. That surpassed the record of 5,562 yards set by Drew Brees in 2011 with the New Orleans Saints.
“Pat was on fire,” Reid said. “He’s throwing these [statistics] out there like they’re nothing.”
More than setting the mark, Mahomes helped ensure the top seed for the Chiefs (14-3) and a bye in the
first round of the playoffs, which begin next weekend. Kansas City, however, is not assured of home-field advantage throughout the postseason.
Because Monday night’s Buffalo-Cincinnati game was canceled, the Chiefs could wind up playing the Bills or Bengals in the AFC championship on a neutral field. The Buffalo-Cincinnati game initially was postponed after Bills safety Damar Hamlin went into cardiac arrest. Hamlin remains in critical condition but is improving.
This was the first NFL game played since Hamlin was hospitalized. Both teams wore black shirts in warmups that read “LOVE FOR DAMAR” with his No. 3 in the middle. Mahomes also wore a hoodie with a drawing of the player with “HAMLIN STRONG” below it.
“It was definitely weird,” Mahomes said of returning to the field.