Chiefs Double Up Steelers

The Kansas City Chiefs put what they hope will be another run deep into the NFL’s postseason into motion and, by all appearances, ushered Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger into retirement.

Quarterback Patrick Mahomes threw five touchdown passes as the Chiefs beat the Steelers, 42-21, on Sunday night at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Mo., in an opening-round AFC playoff encounter that almost certainly was Roethlisberger’s final NFL game.

The second-seeded Chiefs advanced to a conference semifinal next weekend in which they’ll host the third-seeded Buffalo Bills. That’s a rematch of last season’s AFC championship game won by the Chiefs.

Mahomes threw for 404 yards in a 30-for-39 passing display Sunday. His touchdowns went to five different receivers and came on five straight possessions in the second and third quarters, as he and the Chiefs overcame a sluggish and sloppy start. The Chiefs got a sixth touchdown pass, thrown by tight end Travis Kelce on a fourth-quarter gadget play.

Roethlisberger threw for a modest 215 yards on 29-for-44 passing.