KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Patrick Mahomes had his mind on the playoffs even as he was awaiting the arrival of his third child.
The Chiefs quarterback said Tuesday that his wife, Brittany, let him watch some of the wild-card games Sunday while they were waiting for her to give birth. She wound up delivering their second daughter, which they named Golden Raye, to go along with 3-year-old daughter Sterling and a 2-year-old son that they nicknamed Bronze.
“Brittany crushed it,” Mahomes said before heading out to practice for Saturday's divisional-round matchup against Houston, which blew out the Chargers in the wild-card round. "It's been cool to welcome another baby girl to the family and see how my other kids reacted to her, and have a baby sister and stuff like that. So it's been a lot of fun.
“And,” Mahomes added, “it was cool that football was on TV while I was in the hospital, so I was able to watch a little bit.”
Mahomes, a self-described football junkie, was happy the schedule worked out for him. The Chiefs clinched the No. 1 seed and a first-round bye before their Week 18 game in Denver, which Mahomes sat out with many of their best players. And that meant he was able to focus on the arrival of his child rather than worrying about a first-round playoff opponent.
Asked whether baby No. 3 was easier than the first two, Mahomes offered a wise husband-turned-father reply: “I don't even want to say that because, like, Brittany's doing everything.”
“It was cool that we got the bye, just because you can kind of really focus in on just being at the hospital, being in the moment,” he added. “It's a special moment that a lot of dads and moms experience. And you don't forget that stuff.”
Now, the two-time NFL MVP can focus on making some more memories. The Chiefs are trying to become the first team to win three consecutive Lombardi Trophies. They were early 8 1/2-point favorites to beat the Texans, according to the BetMGM Sportsbook, and have the second-best odds to win the Super Bowl behind Detroit, the top seed in the NFC.
“I think every year is special,” Mahomes said. “Obviously you want to win three in a row and build those memories with the guys and the community. But every single year is special. And when I look back at all the different Super Bowls that we've won, I look back at special moments that we've had and special games that we've had. And so, we'll try to do the same this year.”
The Chiefs beat the Texans the weekend before Christmas, part of a grueling stretch in which both played three times over 11 days. And they've won four in a row over Houston dating to the 2020 playoffs, when they fell behind 24-0 in a divisional-round game at Arrowhead Stadium but rallied for a 51-31 victory — and went on to win Mahomes' first Super Bowl.
Chiefs coach Andy Reid said the bye week — and really, more than three weeks off for the most consequential players who sat out the game in Denver — has left his team as healthy as it's been all season heading into their playoff opener.
“They've got good attitudes," Reid said. ”They were in last week and did a nice job with that. Even on the days off, a lot of them came in. But they're excited. They know they're playing a good football team."