Sluggish Chiefs rally past Bengals to clinch 8th straight AFC West title

The Kansas City Chiefs averted disaster Sunday.

Despite another sluggish outing, they rallied for a 25-17 win over the Cincinnati Bengals.

The win didn't do much to quell concerns about a tepid offense that anchored Kansas City through a 2-4 stretch following their Week 10 bye. Still, it secured the AFC West title, avoiding a Week 18 scenario that could have seen the Chiefs eliminated from the postseason. The Chiefs' win eliminated the Bengals and the Denver Broncos from the playoffs.

The Chiefs got off to a strong start, with a 75-yard opening drive that ended with a touchdown pass from Patrick Mahomes to Isaiah Pacheco. They wouldn't find the end zone from there.

After the Bengals answered with a touchdown, the Chiefs turned the ball over on their next possession on a strip-sack of Mahomes. The Bengals then took a 17-7 lead that the Chiefs cut to 17-13 by halftime. From there, kicker Harrison Butker and Kansas City's defense did the bulk of the work.

Harrison Butker scores game's final 18 points

Butker successfully kicked four second-half field goals to extend his personal 18-0 scoring run against the Bengals as Kansas City shut out Cincinnati in the second half.

The Bengals had a chance to tie after Butker's sixth field goal extended Kansas City's lead to 25-17. They converted a fourth-and-18 after Justin Reid's sack of Jake Browning at the Cincinnati 38-yard line. But Chiefs defenders sacked Browning two more times to force a fourth-and-27 that the Bengals would not convert. The stop allowed the Chiefs to run out the clock and clinch an eighth consecutive AFC West title.

Signs of life for Kansas City's offense

While the Chiefs struggled to find the end zone, they converted on a pair of big plays, the likes of which have eluded them in recent weeks. Mahomes found Justin Watson for a 41-yard gain to convert a third down midway through the third quarter.

The next Chiefs possession saw Mahomes find a wide-open Rashee Rice for 67 yards, the longest pass play of Kansas City's season.

Both plays set up field goals, the second of which put the Chiefs up for good.

Mahomes finished the game completing 21 of 29 passes for 245 yards with a touchdown. His first-quarter fumble was the only turnover of the game. Rice was his top target, with four catches for 127 yards.

All-Pro tight end Travis Kelce continued to struggle. He didn't have a catch at halftime and finished the game with three catches for 16 yards. The game was his third straight with fewer than 50 yards receiving and his ninth straight failing to pass the 100-yard barrier.

Rashee Rice

WR - KC - #4

No. 1 option

5

Rec

127

Yds

0

TD

6

Targets

Chiefs defense strong again

There were no concerns about a Chiefs defense that entered Sunday second in the league in yards allowed per game. The Chiefs limited Cincinnati to 263 yards of total offense on 3.7 yards per play. They sacked Browning six times, including four on the final Bengals drive that ended on downs.

With the win, the Chiefs clinched the No. 3 seed in the AFC playoffs, rendering next week's season finale against the Los Angeles Chargers meaningless. If they choose, the Chiefs will have the opportunity to rest key players before hosting a wild-card game at Arrowhead Stadium.