Patrick Mahomes was pumped up when the NFL schedule was released and he saw his Kansas City Chiefs were playing on Christmas Day for the second straight season.
His excitement lasted for only a short time.
“Until I realized it was on Wednesday,” Mahomes said Monday.
Plenty of sore bodies will take the field Wednesday when the Chiefs (14-1) visit the Pittsburgh Steelers (10-5) in what will be the third game in 11 days for both teams.
Both squads just played on Saturday. The Chiefs posted a 27-19 home win over the Houston Texans and the Steelers fell 34-17 to the host Baltimore Ravens.
“You’re not going to feel great,” Mahomes said of the short week. “That’s kind of just what it is. You don’t make excuses in this league. You go out and play football, and you fight until the very end, and you try to get a win at the end of the day.
“You’re motivated to play a great football team, to play in Pittsburgh in a great environment, a great stadium. It’ll be rocking playing on Christmas, so everybody’s going to be watching.”
If Kansas City wins Wednesday, it clinches the No. 1 seed and home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs.
The Chiefs have 14 victories for the third time in the past five seasons. The franchise has never won 15 games in a season.
Kansas City hasn’t committed a single turnover during its five-game winning streak.
Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson isn’t fond of hearing “turnover” after he made two big mistakes in Saturday’s loss to the Ravens.
Wilson lost a fumble after a 19-yard gain to the Baltimore 4-yard line in the second quarter and later was intercepted by Marlon Humphrey, who returned it 37 yards for a touchdown early in the fourth quarter.
Wilson called it “unacceptable” and now has his focus on making amends against Kansas City.
“I don’t think there’s enough time to really sulk or worry or fear,” Wilson said. ” … The one thing I’m not going to do is keep my head down, though. I know for us we got so much great confidence in who we are and what we can do and how we’re going to respond.
“We can’t let a tough game like this take us into a negative state of mind because there’s a lot more to play for and a lot more we’re searching for, and we can still win the (AFC) North.”
Wilson is correct. If the Steelers win their final two regular-season games, they will win their division. They would have clinched it last weekend if they had won in Baltimore.
Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin is hardly concerned about Wilson’s miscues. It was the veteran signal-caller’s first time committing multiple turnovers in nine games with the team.
“He’s tough on himself because he’s got a desire to be great,” Tomlin said. “He wants to lead us to victory. He owns that. I don’t expect that to be an issue in terms of his readiness or trajectory of this week.”
Cornerback Joey Porter Jr. (knee) and receiver Ben Skowronek (hip) missed Pittsburgh’s walkthrough on Monday.
Standout receiver George Pickens (hamstring) was a full participant and may return after missing the past three games. Safety DeShon Elliott (hamstring), cornerback Donte Jackson (back) and defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi (groin) also could return to action.
Jackson’s return would be big if Porter can’t play.
Kansas City also held a walkthrough on Monday. Left tackle D.J. Humphries (hamstring), safety Chamarri Conner (concussion) and star defensive end Chris Jones (calf) missed the session. Jones was injured against Houston.
Meanwhile, Mahomes said his sore ankle is feeling better than it did last week.
The Chiefs lost 20-14 to the visiting Las Vegas Raiders on Christmas Day last season.
Kansas City has won the past three meetings with the Steelers, including a 42-21 rout in an AFC wild-card game on Jan. 16, 2022.