On a day when the Chiefs literally ran circles around the Raiders, Patrick Mahomes etched his name into another NFL record book and guided the team to the top seed in the AFC playoffs.
Mahomes passed for 202 yards and rushed for 29, giving him 5,608 total yards on the season, setting a new NFL record. And the Chiefs defeated the Raiders 31-13 Saturday in Las Vegas and earned a bye next week.
“It starts with the organization and the coaches,” Mahomes said of securing the No. 1 seed. “They’ve set a culture here that was started before I was even here. And so, you get a lot of guys in here that do things right. And we have a lot of veterans on our team. And when you bring in new guys, you just show them by the way you act.”
The Chiefs (14-3) might also have the most fun of any team in the NFL. Late in the second quarter, the Chiefs huddled up on the field around Mahomes, and arm in arm they spun around in circles. When they finally lined up in formation, Jerick McKinnon stood in front of Mahomes, and Kadarius Toney lined up to McKinnon’s right with backup tight end Noah Gray to his left. McKinnon took the snap and ran right, tossing the ball to Mahomes, who threw to Toney on the left side of the field.
Toney turned up field and ran to the end zone, but the play was called back because of a holding penalty. Toney, however, scored on a run the next play.
“The players enjoy doing that stuff, the creativity,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said of the circle play. “They come up with that stuff, and we just throw them out there and let them work.”
It was the first NFL game played since Bills safety Damar Hamlin went into cardiac arrest during a game Monday night. Mahomes said it was “definitely weird” returning to the field and said Hamlin was still on their minds.
“It’s a game that you love, you play your entire life,” he said. “It’s brought so many great things to you. But obviously with the situation that happened Monday night with Damar, you still have that in the back of your mind.”
CLARK SUFFERS GROIN STRAIN
Chiefs defensive end Frank Clark suffered a groin strain in the first half and did not return. The Chiefs, however, don’t play for two weeks, so there’s a chance he could return for the playoffs.
“We’ll see how he does here,” Reid said. “He’s got a little bit of time, which is a good thing to recover.”
