The Kansas City Chiefs won their 12th game of the season on Saturday, defeating the Seattle Seahawks on Christmas Eve at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium.
Here are some quick notes and facts about the game.
1. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes tallied three total touchdowns.
Mahomes completed 16-of-28 passes for 224 yards and three total touchdowns on Saturday, throwing for two scores before rushing for another in the fourth quarter. It was his 11th game with multiple touchdown passes – which is tied for the NFL-lead – and his 37 passing scores now on the season already match his total from last year.
He continues to lead the NFL in passing yards (4,720), passing touchdowns (37), passes of 25+ yards (43) and passing first downs (245). Mahomes needs just 378 passing yards over the Chiefs' next two games in order to pass his single-season franchise record of 5,097 passing yards set during the 2018 season.
This marks Mahomes' fourth season with 4,500+ passing yards and 35+ passing touchdowns, making him one of only four quarterbacks in league history to do so four or more times. He joined Tom Brady (5 times), Drew Brees (4 times) and Peyton Manning (4 times) in that elite club of passers.
2. Tight end Travis Kelce made some more history.
Kelce hauled in his 800th career reception on Saturday, making him just the fifth tight end in NFL history to hit that milestone. He joined Tony Gonzalez, Jason Witten, Antonio Gates and Shannon Sharpe on that list, and with 15 more catches, he'll pass Sharpe for the fourth-most catches by a tight end in league history.
Additionally, Kelce is the fastest tight end in NFL history to reach 800 career catches, doing so in only 142 games. In fact, Kelce is the seventh-fastest pass-catcher – regardless of position – to hit that mark. Only Antonio Brown (126 games), Julio Jones (127 games), Marvin Harrison (131 games), Andre Johnson (137 games), DeAndre Hopkins (138 games) and Brandon Marshall (140 games) did so in fewer games.
Kelce finished Saturday's game with six receptions for 113 yards, marking his second-straight 100-yard performance. He now has six 100-yard games on the season. Only Justin Jefferson (10 games), Tyreek Hill (7 games) and Davante Adams (7 games) have more this year.
3. Tailback Jerick McKinnon had a month of December to remember.
McKinnon has been on an absolute tear lately, tallying a league-most six total touchdowns in his last four games. Only the Los Angeles Rams' Cam Akers – who also has six scores since Week 13 – has matched McKinnon's production during that stretch.
Those six total scores include at least one receiving touchdown in each of the last four games, matching the longest steak for any running back since 1970. His five receiving scores during the month of December marked the most in a calendar month for any running back since Chiefs' tailback Jamaal Charles did so in December of the 2013 season.
4. The Chiefs' defense was tremendous on Saturday.
Kansas City's defense put together one of its best games of the year on Saturday, matching a season-best by allowing just 10 total points. The Chiefs surrendered just one first down through Seattle's first five possessions, and overall, Kansas City held the Seahawks to just 2-of-14 on third down.
Among opponents with 14+ third down attempts, that 14.8 percent conversion rate was the lowest the Chiefs had allowed since Week 4 of the 2013 season.
5. Defensive lineman Chris Jones racked up nine total pressures.
Jones continued his strong season on Saturday, tallying a season-most nine pressures to match the most of any player in Week 16. The veteran defensive lineman finished the game with a team-most four quarterback hits and one sack, moving his season total to 12 sacks on the year.
He ranks seventh in the league in sacks this season, and his 10 sacks since Week 6 rank fourth in the NFL, trailing only the San Francisco 49ers' Nick Bosa (11.5 sacks), the New England Patriots' Josh Uche (11.5 sacks) and the Cleveland Browns' Myles Garrett (10.5 sacks).
6. Safety Juan Thornhill hauled in his second interception of the season.
Thornhill recorded his second pick of the year on Saturday, intercepting Seahawks' quarterback Geno Smith on a pass to the end zone. The play – which ended a potential scoring threat without any points allowed – helped rectify some recent bad luck for Thornhill, who had an interception earlier in the game wiped away due to a penalty elsewhere. It was the second time in the last four weeks that Thornhill had a potential pick negated due to a penalty away from the play. Fortunately, his pick later in the game on Saturday stood.
It was Thornhill's seventh-career interception.
7. Several rookies made plays for the Chiefs' defense on Saturday.
Numerous young players stepped up in major moments on Saturday. Notably, rookie defensive end George Karlaftis swatted a fourth-down pass attempt at the line of scrimmage early in the game. Then, a bit later, rookie safety Bryan Cook made an impressive, open-field tackle to hold Seattle short on a fourth-down attempt midway through the third quarter.
Karlaftis also recorded a sack on third down early in the second quarter. Several other rookies – including cornerbacks Trent McDuffie, Jaylen Watson and Joshua Williams – made plays throughout the game as well.
Additionally, linebacker Nick Bolton continued to rack up the tackles. He tallied a career-most 17 total tackles on Saturday, marking his eighth game this season with 10+ tackles. That's the most such games by a member of the Chiefs in a single season since at least 1994.
A major storyline heading into the playoffs will be the progress of the Chiefs' defense, which is one of the youngest groups in the NFL. Saturday was certainly a sign of some positive growth.
8. The Chiefs completed a regular-season sweep of their NFC opponents.
Kansas City went 5-0 against NFC opponents this season, earning victories against the Seahawks, Cardinals, 49ers, Rams and Buccaneers. This marks the third-straight season that the Chiefs have swept the NFC opponents on their schedule, and since Week 9 of the 2019 season, Kansas City has now won 16 consecutive regular-season games against the NFC.
Patrick Mahomes, in particular, is now 19-3 vs. the NFC in the regular season.
9. Kansas City won by double-digits despite some frigid conditions.
Saturday's game kicked off at just 12 degrees, making it the coldest game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium since Week 15 of the 2016 season (1 degree). It was the fifth-coldest kickoff temperature in Kansas City since at least 1994.
The wind chill of -4 degrees was also the fifth-coldest mark since at least 1994.
10. The Chiefs secured their fifth-straight 12-win season on Saturday.
Kansas City has now won at least 12 games in every season since 2018, compiling the third-longest such streak in NFL history. Only the 2003-09 Colts (7 straight) and 2010-17 Patriots (8 straight) amassed longer streaks.
This is undoubtedly the greatest stretch of success in franchise history, and with another 12-win season and a seventh-straight division title already in the bag, Kansas City has positioned itself well for another postseason run.
In the meantime, the Chiefs will now turn the page to a divisional matchup against the Denver Broncos at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium this upcoming Sunday as Kansas City aims to keep pace with the Buffalo Bills for the top seed in the AFC.
