The Kansas City Chiefs are gearing up for their third game in just 11 days, a challenging stretch caused by the NFL’s decision to schedule games on Christmas.
Star quarterback Patrick Mahomes has openly criticized the league’s scheduling choices, emphasizing the strain it places on players.
With their Christmas Day matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers looming, the Chiefs have been pushed to their physical limits.
The rapid succession of games-three in 11 days-has left little time for recovery. Mahomes didn’t shy away from addressing the challenges this presents during a recent interview with ESPN.
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“All you can do is focus on the game and the practice that you had that day,” Mahomes said. “I try to prepare my body all year long for this stretch by tailoring my workouts, tailoring how you practice and you prepare. The coaches do a great job of taking care of us on the practice field. We practice hard as anybody, but they know how to kind of dial it back when we need it.”
Mahomes highlighted the toll this compressed schedule takes on players’ bodies, pointing out the difficulties of staying in peak condition under such circumstances.
“It is not a good feeling,” Mahomes admitted. “I’m excited to play on Christmas to hopefully get back from what we did last year [when the Chiefs lost on the holiday to the Las Vegas Raiders], but you never want to play this many games in this short of time. It’s just not great for your body. But at the end of the day, it’s your job, your profession. You have to come to work and do it.”
Preparing for the Christmas day battle
Despite his concerns, Mahomes has approached this demanding period with professionalism and focus. The Chiefs arrived at Acrisure Stadium for their Christmas Day showdown against the Steelers with Mahomes leading the charge. The team’s official social media account celebrated their quarterback’s arrival, sharing an image of Mahomes in a sleek blue suit, captioned, “QB1 is coming to town.”
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