PITTSBURGH (AP) — Andy Reid donned a Santa Claus suit in a giddy Kansas City Chiefs locker room on Christmas Day, then handed his team a present it increasingly looks like it deserves: home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs. A lot of Patrick Mahomes. A dash of Travis Kelce. A splash of speed. A defense that quietly goes about its business, even when its leader is standing on the sideline in sweatpants. The road to the Super Bowl will once again go through Arrowhead Stadium. Just the way the Chiefs like it. “Getting the No. 1 seed is important,” Mahomes said after throwing for 320 yards and three touchdowns. “It’s like winning a playoff game.” Kansas City (15-1) spent three hours toying with the Steelers (10-6) like a cat batting around shreds of leftover wrapping paper. The Chiefs raced to an early 13-point lead and were never really threatened by Pittsburgh, which has dropped three straight to see its chances of capturing the AFC North take another hit. Mahomes is now 4-0 against the Steelers with 17 touchdowns against just one interception. He connected on first-half scoring tosses to Xavier Worthy and Justin Watson and added a history-making 12-yard touchdown flip to Kelce to seal it in the fourth quarter. The grab was the 77th scoring reception of Kelce’s career, breaking a franchise record set by Hall of Famer Tony Gonzalez. The 35-year-old Kelce celebrated by dunking the ball over the goal post, a nod to Gonzalez’s signature move. The gesture drew a 15-yard penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct, though it hardly mattered. Harrison Butker made the longer extra point and the Chiefs were firmly in control.
HOUSTON (AP) — Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson passed Michael Vick for the most rushing yards by a quarterback in NFL history in a 31-2 victory over the Houston Texans on Wednesday. “Michael Vick, one of my favorite players,” Jackson said. “That’s just dope.” Jackson moved past Vick on a 6-yard run in the third quarter. Jackson had 87 yards rushing to give him 6,110 yards, moving him past Vick, who had 6,109 in his 13-year career. Jackson, the regular-season MVP last season and in 2019, threw two touchdown passes and had a 48-yard scoring run to lead the Ravens to the win. And he needed just more than three quarters to do it, giving way to Josh Johnson with about 10 minutes left and the game long decided.
CLEVELAND (AP) — Even after leaving Cleveland, Carlos Santana remained a fan favorite and was warmly welcomed back as a visitor. He’s home again. Santana signed a one-year, $12 million contract and returned Monday for his third stint with the Guardians, who have an opening at first base after the AL Central champions traded Josh Naylor to Arizona on Saturday. The 38-year-old Santana spent last season with Minnesota, batting .238 with 23 homers and 71 RBIs in 150 games. He also won his first Gold Glove, becoming the oldest position player to win the honor for the first time. Santana previously was with Cleveland from 2010-17. He returned in 2019, made his first All-Star team and spent two seasons with the club before signing as a free agent with the Kansas City Royals.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Austin Reaves scored the winning layup with one second left after Stephen Curry tied it on a 31-foot 3-pointer with seven seconds remaining, LeBron James had 31 points and 10 assists playing in his NBA-record 19th Christmas Day game, and the Los Angeles Lakers held off the Golden State Warriors 115-113 on Wednesday night. Curry scored 38 with eight 3s, hitting one under pressure from the baseline with 12 seconds left and another with 2:49 remaining only for James to answer from long range on the other end. Reaves recorded a triple-double with 26 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for the Lakers, who lost big man Anthony Davis to a sprained left ankle late in the first quarter.
CHRISTMAS DAY SCORES
National Football League
Kansas City 29, Pittsburgh 10
Baltimore 31, Houston 2
NBA
NY Knicks 117, San Antonio 114
Minnesota 105, Dallas 99
Philadelphia 118, Boston 114
LA Lakers 115, Golden State 113
Phoenix 110, Denver 100