Patrick Mahomes reveals personal reason for wanting Chiefs to lock up No. 1 seed

God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen took on new meaning for the Chiefs.

The Chiefs thumped the Steelers 29-10 on Christmas Day and locked up the top seed in the AFC playoff field. That rough stretch of playing three games in 11 days was not easy, but it actually has a silver lining.

The Chiefs will now get extended rest.

The Chiefs opened Week 17 play with Wednesday’s games, so they won’t play their final regular-season game until Jan. 4 or Jan. 5 (at Denver). Then comes a bye week during the playoffs.

When the Divisional playoff round arrives, the Chiefs will play on either Jan. 18 or Jan. 19. That’s a break of at least 23 days between playing games that matter. And that’s a lot of time to rest and/or for injuries to heal.

There’s also time for a baby.

“I told my wife, my pregnant wife, I was going to get that No. 1 seed, so we can go have that baby,” quarterback Patrick Mahomes said in a Netflix injury following Wednesday’s game. “So we got the No. 1 seed.“

Patrick and Brittany Mahomes, co-owner of the Kansas City Current, in early July announced they would have a third baby.

A possible NFL record

That break of more than weeks before the start of the NFL playoffs just might be an NFL record.

Here’s a look at some other teams that locked up early top seeds.

The 2015 Carolina Panthers were unbeaten when they lost to the Falcons in Week 16. They then had 21 days off before their playoff opener.

In 2011, the Green Bay Packers had a 15-1 record but two other NFC teams had 13 wins that season, so they had to play on Christmas Day to secure the 14th win. They then had a 20-day break before the playoffs.

The 2007 Patriots secured the top seed in the AFC field by the middle of December, but they were unbeaten and trying for a 16-0 season. Thus, they didn’t have an extended break.