KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Patrick Mahomes had a message throughout the week for the team's secondary pass-catchers as the Kansas City Chiefs practiced without tight end Travis Kelce and receiver Tyreek Hill.
"He was preaching to us all to take full advantage of the opportunity that was given to us," wide receiver Byron Pringle said after the Chiefs beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 36-10 at Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday. "He said that before the game as well."
Pringle and others took their quarterback's advice, and coach Andy Reid said the victory, in which Mahomes completed 23 of 30 passes for 268 yards and three touchdowns on the way to clinching a sixth straight AFC West title for the Chiefs, was one of Mahomes' "great games."
"The way he was seeing things and handling himself out there against one of the better pass defenses in the National Football League, my hat goes off to him," Reid said. "He never flinched. He wanted [Kelce and Hill] there. Those are two good football players. But he never flinched on it. He got in and got work done during the week with the receivers that stepped in."
Pringle led the Chiefs with six catches, 75 yards and two touchdowns. Nine different receivers caught a pass, and Kelce, who didn't play while remaining on the COVID-19 list, wasn't one of them. Hill didn't practice all week, though he was activated off the COVID list on Saturday and played. He wasn't much of a factor, catching two passes for 19 yards.
Instead, the Chiefs had to rely on Mahomes and a cast of receivers usually relegated to taking the leftovers that Kelce and Hill don't get. Running back Derrick Gore caught a 50-yard touchdown pass. Wide receiver Mecole Hardman had three receptions, one for a touchdown.
In the case of Pringle, he has had big moments during his time with the Chiefs. But they're often few and far between for him and the other Chiefs receivers besides Kelce and Hill.
Pringle said he fishes a lot during his spare time and that helps him better appreciate his role.
"You never know when a fish is going to bite the bait, so that teaches you patience," he said.
Mahomes didn't play like a quarterback who felt he needed to provide more than usual with one of his top pass-catchers out and the other not practicing all week. But he said the temptation was there.
"I think I've fought that temptation this entire season," he said. "Defenses are playing us with these high shell coverages and they're making us drive the full length of the field and it's kind of built us for these moments. We've had to drive the length of the field, we've had to put together long drives ... and find a way to get a touchdown at the end of it.
"Guys have accepted the challenge of it."