Chiefs win 9th straight AFC West title, beating Chargers 19-17 on late field goal

By David Smale, The Associated Press on December 8, 2024.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – Matthew Wright kicked a 31-yard field goal that banked off the left upright as time expired, and the Kansas City Chiefs survived another close game, beating the Los Angeles Chargers 19-17 on Sunday night to win their ninth straight AFC West title.

Patrick Mahomes led the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs (12-1) on a clock-killing 4 1/2-minute drive to set up Wright’s fourth field goal. It looked routine until the ball clanged off the upright in the latest narrow escape for Kansas City, which has won 10 games by a one-score margin.

Kansas City’s nine straight division titles are two short of the New England Patriots’ NFL record of 11.

The Chiefs led 13-0 at halftime after the Chargers (8-5) punted on their first six possessions, but Justin Herbert and Los Angeles woke up in the second half, scoring on each of their three drives. Cameron Dicker’s 37-yard field goal put the Chargers ahead 17-16 with 4:35 left.

Mahomes then went to work, hitting Xavier Worthy for 14 yards on third-and-10 and scrambling for another first down. After the two-minute warning, Mahomes scrambled, dodged a would-be tackle and lobbed a throw to a kneeling Travis Kelce that allowed the Chiefs to run the clock down to zero.

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