AFC Notes: Patrick Mahomes, Chiefs, Chargers, Raiders

Chargers

• Chargers RB Gus Edwards (ankle) has been ruled out from Week 17, per Tom Pelissero.

Chiefs

Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes said the team showed their mental toughness after winning three games over an 11-day stretch.

“It shows the toughness of the team,” Mahomes said, via Around The NFL. “I think we got better, obviously, as the games went on. The guys, they’re mentally tough and physically tough. We played some really good football teams, some hard-fought battles, and the guys came away with three wins. Getting that No. 1 seed is important. It’s like winning a playoff game, so I was happy to get that done.”

Although Kansas City has the top seed locked up, HC Andy Reid plans to continue keeping his foot on the gas in the final game.

“We know that our work isn’t done for sure,” Reid said. “We’re going to celebrate this, but we’re going to get right back on. We’ve got a good Denver team that we’re going up to play, and we’ve got the playoffs coming up. We’ve got to make sure we stay sharp.”

Raiders

Raiders S Isaiah Pola-Mao had a breakout game in Week 16 where he forced two fumbles recovered by Las Vegas in the second quarter. Raiders DC Patrick Graham touched on his pride in Pola-Mao’s improvement beyond just a special teams contributor.

“He’s been learning how to play in this league on special teams, correcting some of the stuff we saw from college that he needed to get corrected with his tackling,” Graham said, via Levi Damien of the Raiders Wire. “He’s done a good job with that. And then when he gets his opportunity, he makes the most of it. Talking about guys you’re proud of in terms of his growth and development, he’s one of them.”

Las Vegas HC Antonio Pierce felt Pola-Mao was ready to take on a bigger role and described his best traits.

“It wasn’t like, ‘Oh, just throw him in.’ No, we were ready for him to play,” Pierce said. “And all he’s done is taken every advantage of it. He’s vocal. He has a quiet . . . confidence about himself now. He has all the ability in the world; tall, long, can run, ball skills, physicality showed up [Sunday]. He’s really put himself in a good place.”

• According to ESPN’s Paul Gutierrez, Raiders LG Jordan Meredith will be out for Week 17.