The Chiefs win their 10th straight game by beating the Raiders, 23-17. The Kansas City Chiefs finish 11-5 and will visit the Texans in the playoffs.
More info: NFL playoff schedule 2016
The Chiefs ended it perfectly
Nursing a 13-point lead, the Chiefs went on a long fourth quarter drive to close out the game. It was a thing of beauty to see the Chiefs run the ball play after play. Charcandrick West and Spencer Ware wore them down.
Doesn't get much better than Spencer Ware-ing down the defense late in the game.
— Arrowhead Pride (@ArrowheadPride) January 3, 2016
Not quite injury free
First there was Chiefs special teamer DJ Alexander being evaluated for a concussion. He ended up being OK and came back into the game and actually blocked a punt for a safety.
Then there was the big one: Jeremy Maclin. The Chiefs WR fell hard while going up for a pass and briefly left for the locker room. He did come back to the sidelines. We'll need an update on him.
Finally, Chiefs center Mitch Morse was being evaluated for a concussion in the fourth quarter. Zach Fulton came in and played center. This would be a little concerning.
Two picks for Alex Smith
Alex Smith threw two interceptions in the past 12 games. He threw two interceptions in two passes against the Raiders, and one of them went for a touchdown by the Raiders.
Mistakes happen but it was very unusual to see this from Smith, especially the pick six because that was simply a bad pass. It also led to a Raiders player, who lost the game and is not going to the playoffs, taunting the Chiefs as he scored.
ALEX SMITH IS READY FOR THE PLAYOFFS pic.twitter.com/G7atLs2FWl
— Clay Wendler (@ClayWendler) January 3, 2016
That was ... weird. Are you supposed to do that when you're losing and about to get swept by a division rival?