National Football League

Chiefs' win over Steelers 'better than a bye,' Nick Wright says

Published Jan. 17, 2022 12:06 p.m. ET

The Kansas City Chiefs had a relatively easy time of it in their wild-card matchup against Pittsburgh on Sunday night.

After falling behind 7-0 early in the second quarter when T.J. Watt converted a Mecole Hardman fumble into a touchdown, Kansas City buckled down. The Chiefs, who have won the AFC West six years in a row and played in the last two Super Bowls, would score 35 straight points to make a mockery of the contest, which would ultimately be a 42-21 victory.

It was such a breezy victory, that "First Things First" cohost Nick Wright coined a term for it: "Better than a bye."

For context, Wright actually introduced the phrase last week when addressing whether the Chiefs should be worried about facing the Steelers.

"Worried? No!" Wright said. "This is actually better than a bye. Get some cardio in. Knock off some rust. Have no chance of losing. Can work on some things and just be rolling when the playoffs actually start for the Chiefs."

"Playing the Steelers is actually better for the Chiefs than a bye"

Does Nick Wright think Chiefs fans should be worried? Nope. In fact, he thinks this is actually better than a bye.

The bold statement produced some laughs — as well as some raised eyebrows — from his cohosts, but actually turned out to be prescient.

The Chiefs toyed with the Steelers for much of the contest. While the teams had the exact same number of drives (12) and the exact same time of possession (30 minutes), the results of those possessions were vastly different.

The Chiefs outgained the Steelers 478-257 and averaged 7.4 yards per play, compared to 3.9 for Pittsburgh. Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes passed for 404 yards and five touchdowns and had a passer rating of 138.2, compared to 215 yards and a 92.5 passer rating for Ben Roethlisberger.

The Chiefs also outgained the Steelers 106-56 on the ground, averaging 4.8 yards per carry vs. the Steelers' 2.8.

On top of all of this, the Chiefs unveiled a couple of plays that will give the Buffalo Bills something to think about ahead of their matchup in the divisional round on Sunday (6:30 p.m. ET on CBS).

In the third quarter, Mahomes threw a touchdown pass to offensive lineman Nick Allegretti.

And with the game on ice in the fourth, tight end Travis Kelce threw a TD to Byron Pringle.

It all gave Wright plenty to crow about on Monday, and he didn't let the opportunity pass by.

"Was it better than a bye?" he asked. "Oh, I don't know, Travis Kelce got a touchdown pass, our seventh-string offensive lineman got a touchdown catch, Mahomes is out here dancing, Big Ben was out here crying, Kelce was out here doing everything. No one got hurt. I'd say that's better than a bye."

"I'd say that was better than a bye"

Watch as Nick Wright shares his thoughts on Patrick Mahomes' performance in the Chiefs' win over the Steelers.

The Chiefs had a fun time on Sunday night, but now they have a real challenge ahead. The Bills are coming off a dominant performance themselves, a 47-17 pasting of the New England Patriots that set multiple records. It should be fun to watch.