2015 Kansas City Chiefs season

2015 Kansas City Chiefs season
Head coach Andy Reid
General manager John Dorsey
Owner The Hunt Family
Home field Arrowhead Stadium
Results
Record 11–5
Division place 2nd AFC West
Playoff finish Won Wild Card Playoffs (Texans) 30–0
Lost Divisional Playoffs (Patriots) 27–20
Pro Bowlers S Eric Berry
LB Tamba Hali
LB Justin Houston
TE Travis Kelce
CB Marcus Peters
LB Derrick Johnson
Team MVP Alex Smith & Eric Berry
Team ROY Marcus Peters
Uniform

The 2015 Kansas City Chiefs season was the franchise's 46th season in the National Football League, the 56th overall and the third under the head coach/general manager tandem of Andy Reid and John Dorsey. The Chiefs went through a poor start in their first 6 games as they were 1–5, and lost their star running back, Jamaal Charles due to a torn ACL in his right knee during an 18–17 Week 5 loss at home against the Chicago Bears. In week 16, after their 9th consecutive victory and the Baltimore Ravens defeating the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Chiefs clinched a playoff berth, their 2nd in 3 years.[1] They are the first team since the 1970 Cincinnati Bengals to start the season 1–5 and qualify for the playoffs.[2] They also set the franchise record for the most consecutive victories, winning 10 in a row. In their wildcard matchup, the Chiefs played the Houston Texans. The Chiefs defeated the Texans 30–0 to earn their first playoff win in 22 years. The following week, they were defeated by the New England Patriots in the Divisional round by a score of 27–20.

Roster changes

Offseason

Reserve/future free agent contracts

Player Position
Brandon Barden TE
Armon Binns WR
Hebron Fangupo DT
Curtis Feight T
Brandon Hartson LS
Ricky Henry G
Aaron Hester CB
Deji Olatoye
Jarrod Pughsley T
Da'Rick Rogers WR
Adam Schiltz TE
Derek Sherrod T
Spencer Ware RB
Fred Williams WR
Jerel Worthy DT

Cuts

Position Player 2015 team
LB Joe Mays New York Jets
DT Vance Walker Denver Broncos
TE Anthony Fasano Tennessee Titans
WR Donnie Avery None
WR A. J. Jenkins Dallas Cowboys
WR Dwayne Bowe Cleveland Browns
G Mike McGlynn New Orleans Saints

Trades

Position Player/pick
received 		Team Compensation
G Ben Grubbs New Orleans Saints 5th round pick,
2015 NFL draft
FS Kelcie McCray Seattle Seahawks 5th round pick,
2016 NFL draft

Free agents

Position Player Status* 2014 team(s) 2015 team
WR Jason Avant UFA Kansas City Chiefs Kansas City Chiefs
S Tyvon Branch UFA Oakland Raiders Kansas City Chiefs
FS Kurt Coleman UFA Kansas City Chiefs Carolina Panthers
LS Thomas Gafford UFA Kansas City Chiefs Chicago Bears
TE Richard Gordon UFA Kansas City Chiefs Kansas City Chiefs
WR Frankie Hammond ERFA Kansas City Chiefs Kansas City Chiefs
TE Demetrius Harris ERFA Kansas City Chiefs Kansas City Chiefs
T Ryan Harris UFA Kansas City Chiefs Denver Broncos
WR Junior Hemingway ERFA Kansas City Chiefs Kansas City Chiefs
LB Justin Houston UFA Kansas City Chiefs Kansas City Chiefs
C Rodney Hudson UFA Kansas City Chiefs Oakland Raiders
G Jeff Linkenbach UFA Kansas City Chiefs Miami Dolphins
WR Jeremy Maclin UFA Philadelphia Eagles Kansas City Chiefs
LB Josh Martin ERFA Kansas City Chiefs Kansas City Chiefs
LB Josh Mauga UFA Kansas City Chiefs Kansas City Chiefs
FS Kelcie McCray RFA Kansas City Chiefs Seattle Seahawks
RB Joe McKnight UFA Kansas City Chiefs None
CB Chris Owens UFA Kansas City Chiefs New Orleans Saints
CB Ron Parker UFA Kansas City Chiefs Kansas City Chiefs
DE Kevin Vickerson UFA Kansas City Chiefs New York Jets
*RFA: Restricted free agent, UFA: Unrestricted free agent, ERFA: Exclusive rights free agent, Franchise: Franchise tag

2015 draft class

Main article: 2015 NFL draft
2015 Kansas City Chiefs draft
Round Selection Player Position College
1 18 Marcus Peters Cornerback Washington
2 49 Mitch Morse Guard Missouri
3 76 Chris Conley Wide Receiver Georgia
98 Steven Nelson Cornerback Oregon State
4 118 Ramik Wilson Linebacker Georgia
5 172 D. J. Alexander Linebacker Oregon State
173 James O'Shaughnessy Tight End Illinois State
6 217 Rakeem Nunez-Roches Defensive Tackle Southern Mississippi
7 233 Da'Ron Brown Wide Receiver Northern Illinois
Compensatory selection
Notes

Preseason transactions

Cuts

Cuts to 75
Position Player
WR Kenny Cook
T Anthony Dima
LS Andrew East
CB Aaron Hester
DE Vaughn Martin
CB Kenneth Penny
G Marcus Reed
TE Adam Schiltz
WR Jeret Smith
DL Charles Tuaau
WR L’Damian Washington
WR Junior Hemingway
OL Tevon Rooks
Cuts to 53
Position Player
WR Da'Ron Brown
DE Mike Catapano
S Sanders Commings
LB Ja'Gared Davis
DT Hebron Fangupo
C Garrett Frye
DL David Irving
LB James-Michael Johnson
C Eric Kush
WR Tello Luckett
C Daniel Munyer
DB Deji Olatoye
G Jarrod Pughsley
RB Darrin Reaves
DB Kevin Short
OT Derek Sherrod
TE Ryan Taylor
FB Spencer Ware
WR Fredd Williams
TE Richard Gordon

Regular season transactions

Suspensions served

Position Player Length Reason Weeks
served
CB Sean Smith 4 games Violation of personal
conduct policy 		1-4

Signings

Position Player Previous team
TE Brian Parker San Diego Chargers
RB Spencer Ware Kansas City Chiefs*
DL David King Seattle Seahawks
T Jah Reid Baltimore Ravens
T Jarrod Pughsley Kansas City Chiefs*

Players involved in multiple transactions

This list is for players who were involved in more than one transaction during the season

Position Player Final status
LB Dezman Moses Chiefs active roster
WR Frankie Hammond Chiefs active roster
WR Saalim Hakim Free agent
OL Daniel Munyer Chiefs active roster

*Indicates player was signed off the practice squad of the team listed

Staff

2015 Kansas City Chiefs staff
Front office
  • Chairman/CEO – Clark Hunt
  • President – Mark Donovan
  • General Manager – John Dorsey
  • Director of Football Administration – Trip MacCracken
  • Director of Football Operations – Chris Ballard
  • Co-Director of Player Personnel – Mike Borgonzi
  • Co-Director of Player Personnel – Brett Veach
  • Director of College Scouting – Marvin Allen
  • Director of Pro Scouting – Will Lewis

Head coaches

  • Head Coach/Executive Vice President Of Football Operations – Andy Reid
  • Assistant Head Coach/Wide Receivers – David Culley
  • Spread Game Analyst/Special Projects – Brad Childress
  • Statistical Analysis Coordinator – Mike Frazier

Offensive coaches

 Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

Strength and conditioning

  • Strength and Conditioning – Barry Rubin
  • Assistant Strength and Conditioning – Travis Crittenden
  • Assistant Strength and Conditioning – Brent Salazar

Final roster

2015 Kansas City Chiefs final roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

 Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

 Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

 Reserve lists


Practice squad


Rookies in italics
 53 Active, 8 Inactive, 10 Practice squad

Schedule

Preseason

Week Date Opponent Result Record Game site NFL.com
recap
1 August 15 at Arizona Cardinals W 34–19 1–0 University of Phoenix Stadium Recap
2 August 21 Seattle Seahawks W 14–13 2–0 Arrowhead Stadium Recap
3 August 28 Tennessee Titans W 34–10 3–0 Arrowhead Stadium Recap
4 September 3 at St. Louis Rams W 24–17 4–0 Edward Jones Dome Recap

Regular season

Week Date Opponent Result Record Game site NFL.com
recap
1 September 13 at Houston Texans W 27–20 1–0 NRG Stadium Recap
2 September 17 Denver Broncos L 24–31 1–1 Arrowhead Stadium Recap
3 September 28 at Green Bay Packers L 28–38 1–2 Lambeau Field Recap
4 October 4 at Cincinnati Bengals L 21–36 1–3 Paul Brown Stadium Recap
5 October 11 Chicago Bears L 17–18 1–4 Arrowhead Stadium Recap
6 October 18 at Minnesota Vikings L 10–16 1–5 TCF Bank Stadium Recap
7 October 25 Pittsburgh Steelers W 23–13 2–5 Arrowhead Stadium Recap
8 November 1 Detroit Lions W 45–10 3–5 Wembley Stadium Recap
9 Bye
10 November 15 at Denver Broncos W 29–13 4–5 Sports Authority Field at Mile High Recap
11 November 22 at San Diego Chargers W 33–3 5–5 Qualcomm Stadium Recap
12 November 29 Buffalo Bills W 30–22 6–5 Arrowhead Stadium Recap
13 December 6 at Oakland Raiders W 34–20 7–5 O.co Coliseum Recap
14 December 13 San Diego Chargers W 10–3 8–5 Arrowhead Stadium Recap
15 December 20 at Baltimore Ravens W 34–14 9–5 M&T Bank Stadium Recap
16 December 27 Cleveland Browns W 17–13 10–5 Arrowhead Stadium Recap
17 January 3 Oakland Raiders W 23–17 11–5 Arrowhead Stadium Recap

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Postseason

Playoff round Date Opponent (seed) Result Record Game site NFL.com
recap
Wild Card January 9, 2016 at Houston Texans (4) W 30–0 1–0 NRG Stadium Recap
Divisional January 16, 2016 at New England Patriots (2) L 20–27 1–1 Gillette Stadium Recap

Game summaries

Regular season

Week 1: at Houston Texans

Week One: Kansas City Chiefs at Houston Texans – Game summary
1 2 34Total
Chiefs 14 13 0027
Texans 6 3 01120

at NRG Stadium, Houston, Texas

Game information

First quarter
Second quarter
Third quarter
Fourth quarter
Top passers
  • KC –
  • HOU –
Top rushers
  • KC –
  • HOU –
Top receivers
  • KC –
  • HOU –
Top tacklers
  • KC –
  • HOU –

Week 2: vs. Denver Broncos

Week Two: Denver Broncos at Kansas City Chiefs – Game summary
1 2 34Total
Broncos 0 14 31431
Chiefs 0 14 3724

at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

Game information

First quarter
Second quarter
Third quarter
Fourth quarter
Top passers
  • DEN –
  • KC –
Top rushers
  • DEN –
  • KC –
Top receivers
  • DEN –
  • KC –
Top tacklers
  • DEN –
  • KC –

Week 3: at Green Bay Packers

Week Three: Kansas City Chiefs at Green Bay Packers – Game summary
1 2 34Total
Chiefs 0 7 71428
Packers 14 10 7738

at Lambeau Field, Green Bay, Wisconsin

Game information

First quarter
Second quarter
Third quarter
Fourth quarter
Top passers
  • KC –
  • GB –
Top rushers
  • KC –
  • GB –
Top receivers
  • KC –
  • GB –
Top tacklers
  • KC –
  • GB –

Week 4: at Cincinnati Bengals

Week Four: Kansas City Chiefs at Cincinnati Bengals – Game summary
1 2 34Total
Chiefs 3 9 3621
Bengals 14 0 15736

at Paul Brown Stadium, Cincinnati, Ohio

Game information

21-36

First quarter
Second quarter
Third quarter
Fourth quarter
Top passers
  • KC – Alex Smith
  • CIN – Andy Dalton
Top rushers
  • KC –
  • CIN –
Top receivers
  • KC –
  • CIN –
Top tacklers
  • KC –
  • CIN –

Week 5: vs. Chicago Bears

Week Five: Chicago Bears at Kansas City Chiefs – Game summary
1 2 34Total
Bears 3 0 31218
Chiefs 7 10 0017

at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

Game information

First quarter
Second quarter
Third quarter
Fourth quarter
Top passers
  • CHI –
  • KC –
Top rushers
  • CHI –
  • KC –
Top receivers
  • CHI –
  • KC –
Top tacklers
  • CHI –
  • KC –

Week 6: at Minnesota Vikings

Week Six: Kansas City Chiefs at Minnesota Vikings  – Game summary
1 2 34Total
Chiefs 0 0 01010
Vikings 3 7 3316

at TCF Bank Stadium, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Game information

First quarter
Second quarter
Third quarter
Fourth quarter
Top passers
  • KC –
  • MIN –
Top rushers
  • KC –
  • MIN –
Top receivers
  • KC –
  • MIN –
Top tacklers
  • KC –
  • MIN –

Week 7: vs. Pittsburgh Steelers

Week Seven: Pittsburgh Steelers at Kansas City Chiefs – Game summary
1 2 34Total
Steelers 3 0 7313
Chiefs 3 6 7723

at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

  • Date: October 25
  • Game time: 12:00 p.m. CDT
  • Game weather: 58 °F (14 °C), sunny
  • Game attendance: 76,365
  • Referee: Walt Coleman
  • TV announcers (CBS): Greg Gumbel, Trent Green and Stacey Dales
  • Recap, Gamebook
Game information

First quarter
Second quarter
Third quarter
Fourth quarter
Top passers
  • PIT –
  • KC –
Top rushers
  • PIT –
  • KC –
Top receivers
  • PIT –
  • KC –
Top tacklers
  • PIT –
  • KC –

Week 8: vs. Detroit Lions

NFL International Series
Week 8: Detroit Lions at Kansas City Chiefs – Game summary
1 2 34Total
Lions 3 0 0710
Chiefs 7 17 71445

at Wembley Stadium, London, England

  • Date: November 1
  • Game time: 2:30 p.m. GMT/8:30 a.m. CST
  • Game weather: 50 °F (10 °C), cloudy
  • Game attendance: 83,624
  • Referee: Jeff Triplette
  • TV announcers (Fox): Sam Rosen, John Lynch and Pam Oliver
  • Recap, Gamebook
Game information

First quarter
Second quarter
Third quarter
Fourth quarter
Top passers
  • DET –
  • KC –
Top rushers
  • DET –
  • KC –
Top receivers
  • DET –
  • KC –
Top tacklers
  • DET –
  • KC –

Week 10: at Denver Broncos

Week Ten: Kansas City Chiefs at Denver Broncos – Game summary
1 2 34Total
Chiefs 10 9 3729
Broncos 0 0 01313

at Sports Authority Field at Mile High, Denver, Colorado

  • Date: November 15
  • Game time: 3:25 p.m. CST/2:25 p.m. MST
  • Game weather: 64 °F (18 °C), mostly sunny
  • Game attendance: 76,973
  • Referee: Gene Steratore
  • TV announcers (CBS): Greg Gumbel, Trent Green and Jamie Erdahl
  • Recap, Gamebook
Game information

First quarter
Second quarter
Third quarter
Fourth quarter
Top passers
  • KC –
  • DEN –
Top rushers
  • KC –
  • DEN –
Top receivers
  • KC –
  • DEN –
Top tacklers
  • KC –
  • DEN –

Week 11: at San Diego Chargers

Week Eleven: Kansas City Chiefs at San Diego Chargers – Game summary
1 2 34Total
Chiefs 6 6 71433
Chargers 0 3 003

at Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego, California

  • Date: November 22
  • Game time: 3:05 p.m. CST/1:05 p.m. PST
  • Game weather: 87 °F (31 °C), sunny
  • Game attendance: 65,837
  • Referee: Carl Cheffers
  • TV announcers (CBS): Spero Dedes and Solomon Wilcots
  • Recap, Gamebook
Game information

First quarter
Second quarter
Third quarter
Fourth quarter
Top passers
  • KC –
  • SD –
Top rushers
  • KC –
  • SD –
Top receivers
  • KC –
  • SD –
Top tacklers
  • KC –
  • SD –

Week 12: vs. Buffalo Bills

Week Twelve: Buffalo Bills at Kansas City Chiefs – Game summary
1 2 34Total
Bills 10 6 6022
Chiefs 0 14 10630

at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

  • Date: November 29
  • Game time: 12:00 p.m. CST
  • Game weather: 35 °F (2 °C), cloudy and rainy
  • Game attendance: 72,493
  • Referee: Terry McAulay
  • TV announcers (CBS): Kevin Harlan and Rich Gannon
  • Recap, Gamebook
Game information

First quarter
Second quarter
Third quarter
Fourth quarter
Top passers
  • BUF –
  • KC –
Top rushers
  • BUF –
  • KC –
Top receivers
  • BUF –
  • KC –
Top tacklers
  • BUF –
  • KC –

Week 13: at Oakland Raiders

Week Thirteen: Kansas City Chiefs at Oakland Raiders – Game summary
1 2 34Total
Chiefs 7 0 72034
Raiders 7 7 6020

at O.co Coliseum, Oakland, California

  • Date: December 6
  • Game time: 3:05 p.m. CST/1:05 p.m. PST
  • Game weather: 57 °F (14 °C), overcast
  • Game attendance: 55,010
  • Referee: Craig Wrolstad
  • TV announcers (CBS): Greg Gumbel, Trent Green and Jamie Erdahl
  • Recap, Gamebook
Game information

First quarter
Second quarter
Third quarter
Fourth quarter
Top passers
  • KC –
  • OAK –
Top rushers
  • KC –
  • OAK –
Top receivers
  • KC –
  • OAK –
Top tacklers
  • KC –
  • OAK –

Week 14: vs. San Diego Chargers

Week Fourteen: San Diego Chargers at Kansas City Chiefs – Game summary
1 2 34Total
Chargers 0 0 303
Chiefs 0 10 0010

at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

Game information

First quarter
Second quarter
Third quarter
Fourth quarter
Top passers
  • SD –
  • KC –
Top rushers
  • SD –
  • KC –
Top receivers
  • SD –
  • KC –
Top tacklers
  • SD –
  • KC –

Week 15: at Baltimore Ravens

Week Fifteen: Kansas City Chiefs at Baltimore Ravens – Game summary
1 2 34Total
Chiefs 14 10 01034
Ravens 7 7 0014

at M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore, Maryland

  • Date: December 20
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST/12:00 p.m. CST
  • Game weather: 41 °F (5 °C), sunny
  • Game attendance: 70,791
  • Referee: Jeff Triplette
  • TV announcers (CBS): Kevin Harlan, Rich Gannon and Chris Fischer
  • Recap, Gamebook
Game information

First quarter
Second quarter
Third quarter
Fourth quarter
Top passers
  • KC –
  • BAL –
Top rushers
  • KC –
  • BAL –
Top receivers
  • KC –
  • BAL –
Top tacklers
  • KC –
  • BAL –

Week 16: vs. Cleveland Browns

Week Sixteen: Cleveland Browns at Kansas City Chiefs – Game summary
1 2 34Total
Browns 0 3 7313
Chiefs 10 7 0017

at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

  • Date: December 27
  • Game time: 12:00 p.m. CST
  • Game weather: 36 °F (2 °C), cloudy
  • Game attendance: 69,115
  • Referee: Walt Anderson
  • TV announcers (CBS): Kevin Harlan and Rich Gannon
  • Recap, Gamebook
Game information

First quarter
Second quarter
Third quarter
Fourth quarter
Top passers
  • CLE –
  • KC –
Top rushers
  • CLE –
  • KC –
Top receivers
  • CLE –
  • KC –
Top tacklers
  • CLE –
  • KC –

Week 17: vs. Oakland Raiders

Week Seventeen: Oakland Raiders at Kansas City Chiefs – Game summary
1 2 34Total
Raiders 0 10 0717
Chiefs 14 0 9023

at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

  • Date: January 3, 2016
  • Game time: 3:25 p.m. CST
  • Game weather: 37 °F (3 °C), sunny
  • Game attendance: 76,114
  • Referee: Tony Corrente
  • TV announcers (Fox): Kevin Burkhardt, John Lynch and Pam Oliver
  • Recap, Gamebook
Game information

First quarter
Second quarter
Third quarter
Fourth quarter
Top passers
  • OAK –
  • KC –
Top rushers
  • OAK –
  • KC –
Top receivers
  • OAK –
  • KC –
Top tacklers
  • OAK –
  • KC –

Postseason

AFC Wild Card Playoffs: at (#4) Houston Texans

AFC Wild Card Playoffs: (#5) Kansas City Chiefs at (#4) Houston Texans – Game summary
1 2 34Total
Chiefs 7 6 71030
Texans 0 0 000

at NRG Stadium, Houston, Texas

Game information

1st quarter
2nd quarter
  • KC – Cairo Santos 49-yard field goal, 12:50. Chiefs 10–0. Drive: 5 plays, 27 yards, 2:30.
  • KC – Cairo Santos 49-yard field goal, 7:06. Chiefs 13–0. Drive: 6 plays, 40 yards, 3:29.
3rd quarter
  • KC – Chris Conley 9-yard pass from Alex Smith (Cairo Santos kick), 4:35. Chiefs 20–0. Drive: 11 plays, 94 yards, 5:23.
4th quarter
  • KC – Spencer Ware 5-yard run (Cairo Santos kick), 14:56. Chiefs 27–0. Drive: 8 plays, 71 yards, 4:13.
  • KC – Cairo Santos 33-yard field goal, 3:59. Chiefs 30–0. Drive: 4 plays, 6 yards, 2:13.
Leading passers
Leading rushers
Leading receivers

The Texans, who won the weak AFC South division with a 9–7 record, were completely crushed by the Chiefs. The Chiefs made postseason history as the first ever team to score a kick return touchdown in the opening play of the playoffs, when Knile Davis returned the opening kick 106 yards for a touchdown. After that, the game started to slow down, 3 and out Texans, 3 & out Chiefs, followed by a string of turnovers, Eric Berry's interception of Brian Hoyer, Brian Cushing's interception of Alex Smith two plays later, and a Hoyer fumble recovered by Dontari Poe on the ensuing drive. The Chiefs made a field goal on the drive, and although the team was able to get to the 2 yard line, a negative run by J. J. Watt and another interception by Hoyer ended the Texans' closest chance at scoring in the entire game. Although the Texans' defense forced a 3-and-out, Hoyer threw his third interception to Marcus Peters on the second play of their drive.

AFC Divisional Playoffs: at (#2) New England Patriots

AFC Divisional Playoffs: (#5) Kansas City Chiefs at (#2) New England Patriots  – Game summary
1 2 34Total
Chiefs 3 3 7720
Patriots 7 7 7627

at Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts

Game information

1st quarter
2nd quarter
  • NE – Tom Brady 1-yard run (Stephen Gostkowski kick), 3:23. Patriots 14–3. Drive: 11 plays, 98 yards, 5:36.
  • KC – Cairo Santos 32-yard field goal, 0:12. Patriots 14–6. Drive: 11 plays, 52 yards, 3:11.
3rd quarter
  • NE – Rob Gronkowski 16-yard pass from Tom Brady (Stephen Gostkowski kick), 8:24. Patriots 21–6. Drive: 5 plays, 69 yards, 2:07.
  • KC – Albert Wilson 10-yard pass from Alex Smith (Cairo Santos kick), 2:12. Patriots 21–13. Drive: 12 plays, 80 yards, 6:12.
4th quarter
  • NE – Stephen Gostkowski 40-yard field goal, 14:46. Patriots 24–13. Drive: 8 plays, 57 yards, 2:26.
  • NE – Stephen Gostkowski 32-yard field goal, 10:20. Patriots 27–13. Drive: 5 plays, 19 yards, 2:06.
  • KC – Charcandrick West 1-yard run (Cairo Santos kick), 1:13. Patriots 27–20. Drive: 16 plays, 80 yards, 5:16.
Leading passers
Leading rushers
Leading receivers

The Chiefs, who had won 11 straight, travelled to Gillete Stadium to face the Patriots, who had advanced to the AFC Championship for the last 5 years. The Patriots scored first blood with a Rob Gronkowski touchdown catch, followed by a Cairo Santos field goal for Kansas City. The pattern was duplicated in the 2nd quarter, with Tom Brady rushing for a score before Santos kicked another field goal. In the 3rd quarter, after Gronkowski scored his second TD, Alex Smith threw his first to Albert Wilson. The Patriots responded with 2 fourth quarter field goals to make the score 27-13 with 10:20 left. Although the Chiefs go on a touchdown drive late in the game, the drive took up over 5 minutes, and the Chiefs had to force a 3 and out (with 3 timeouts) to have a chance. On 2nd down, when Brady threw the ball instead of running it to waste time, the ball was batted and miraculously caught by Julian Edelman for a 1st down, ending the game.

Standings

Division

AFC West
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
(1) Denver Broncos 12 4 0 .750 4–2 8–4 355 296 W2
(5) Kansas City Chiefs 11 5 0 .688 5–1 10–2 405 287 W10
Oakland Raiders 7 9 0 .438 3–3 7–5 359 399 L1
San Diego Chargers 4 12 0 .250 0–6 3–9 320 398 L2

Conference

# Team Division W L T PCT DIV CONF SOS SOV STK
Division Leaders
1[lower-alpha 1] Denver Broncos West 12 4 0 .750 4–2 8–4 .500 .479 W2
2[lower-alpha 1] New England Patriots East 12 4 0 .750 4–2 9–3 .473 .448 L2
3[lower-alpha 1] Cincinnati Bengals North 12 4 0 .750 5–1 9–3 .477 .406 W1
4 Houston Texans South 9 7 0 .563 5–1 7–5 .496 .410 W3
Wild Cards
5 Kansas City Chiefs West 11 5 0 .688 5–1 10–2 .496 .432 W10
6[lower-alpha 2] Pittsburgh Steelers North 10 6 0 .625 3–3 7–5 .504 .463 W1
Did not qualify for the playoffs
7[lower-alpha 2] New York Jets East 10 6 0 .625 3–3 7–5 .441 .388 L1
8[lower-alpha 3] Buffalo Bills East 8 8 0 .500 4–2 7–5 .508 .438 W2
9[lower-alpha 3] Indianapolis Colts South 8 8 0 .500 4–2 6–6 .500 .406 W2
10 Oakland Raiders West 7 9 0 .438 3–3 7–5 .512 .366 L1
11 Miami Dolphins East 6 10 0 .375 1–5 4–8 .469 .469 W2
12[lower-alpha 3] Jacksonville Jaguars South 5 11 0 .313 2–4 5–7 .473 .375 L3
13[lower-alpha 3] Baltimore Ravens North 5 11 0 .313 3–3 4–8 .508 .425 L1
14 San Diego Chargers West 4 12 0 .250 0–6 3–9 .527 .328 L2
15[lower-alpha 3] Cleveland Browns North 3 13 0 .188 1–5 2–10 .531 .271 L3
16[lower-alpha 3] Tennessee Titans South 3 13 0 .188 1–5 1–11 .492 .375 L4
Tiebreakers[lower-alpha 4]
  1. 1 2 3 Denver finished ahead of New England and Cincinnati for the No. 1 seed based on head-to-head sweep. New England finished ahead of Cincinnati for the No. 2 seed based on record vs. common opponents — New England's cumulative record against Buffalo, Denver, Houston and Pittsburgh was 4–1, while Cincinnati's cumulative record against the same four teams was 2–3.
  2. 1 2 Pittsburgh finished ahead of the New York Jets for the No. 6 seed and qualified for the last playoff spot based on record vs. common opponents — Pittsburgh's cumulative record against Cleveland, Indianapolis, New England and Oakland was 4–1, while the Jets' cumulative record against the same four teams was 3–2.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 The tiebreaker was based on head-to-head victory.
  4. ↑ When breaking ties for three or more teams under the NFL's rules, they are first broken within divisions, then comparing only the highest ranked remaining team from each division.

References

  1. ↑ "Chiefs earn playoff berth with win over Browns". NFL.com.
  2. ↑ "Chiefs clinch playoffs on nailbiter, win ninth straight after 1-5 start". Sports.Yahoo.com.

External links

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