BALTIMORE (AP) — During their eight-game winning streak, the Kansas City Chiefs have made this abundantly clear: The opposition will pay for its mistakes.

That is precisely what happened Sunday, when the Chiefs capitalized on an abundance of miscues by the Baltimore Ravens in a 34-14 victory that earned Kansas City a place in the NFL record book.

Tyvon Branch returned a fumble 73 yards for a touchdown and Marcus Peters scored on a 90-yard interception return for the Chiefs, who also scored touchdowns following a drive-extending penalty by Baltimore and a failed fake punt.

With the victory, the Chiefs (9-5) became the first team in NFL history to follow a five-game skid with eight successive wins in the same season. Kansas City also kept itself in the thick of the AFC playoff picture.

The Chiefs picked off two passes and recovered a fumble, didn’t give the ball away and now own a plus-15 turnover differential. Kansas City believes that if it wins the turnover battle, it will win the game.

“I certainly do feel like that’s the mindset, yeah,” quarterback Alex Smith said. “To have the three turnovers — and technically, almost a fourth with when they went for the fake — to be able to capitalize on those, it changed that game.”

Smith went 21-for-25 for 171 yards and a touchdown. Charcandrick West ran for 76 yards and a score.

Although the Chiefs let a 24-7 lead dwindle to 10 points by allowing a successful Hail Mary throw at the end of the first half, the outcome was never in doubt.

Credit the opportunistic defense for that.

“They’ve kind of got that mojo,” Smith said. “The defense, you see them kind of salivate, so to speak.”

Baltimore (4-10) lost its third straight and fell to 2-5 at home. It’s the first time in their 20-year history that the Ravens have lost five home games.

“For us, the story of the game, basically, is turnovers,” coach John Harbaugh said.

Starting his second straight game for Baltimore, Jimmy Clausen completed 26 of 45 passes for a career-high 281 yards, two TDs and two interceptions. His favorite target was Kamar Aiken, who caught eight passes for 128 yards — including a desperation 48-yarder at the end of the first half.

But Clausen’s first interception was the final blow to the Ravens’ upset bid. With Baltimore at the KC 16, Peters stepped in front of Daniel Brown, picked off the pass and took it down the left sideline for a 34-14 lead with 4:36 left.

“The biggest thing is taking care of the ball,” Clausen said. “Whether it’s the fumble, or the two interceptions that I had, you’re not going to win games turning the ball over.”

The three giveaways left Baltimore with a minus-15 differential for the season.

The Ravens wore pants that were described by the team as gold but appeared to be the color of spicy mustard. Either way, the change did little to alter the course of this lost season for a Baltimore team that appeared in the playoffs in six of the past seven years.

Coming into the game, the Chiefs were averaging 29.1 points and yielding only 12. Those numbers won’t change much after this blowout.

On Kansas City’s opening series, Smith came up short on a third-down run but was hit by Timmy Jernigan while out of bounds. That extended a drive that ended with a season-best, 38-yard touchdown run by West.

Baltimore pulled even with a 1-yard TD pass from Clausen to Kyle Juszczyk. On their next possession, the Ravens got to the KC 30 before Javorius Allen fumbled when hit by Derrick Johnson, and Branch went the distance for the go-ahead score.

“My hat’s off to our guys. They take advantage of opportunities,” coach Andy Reid said. “They’ve done that really all year.”

Late in the first quarter, Baltimore’s Sam Koch ran up the middle on a fake punt. He gained 7 yards but needed 9, which provided KC with the ball at the Baltimore 24. Three plays later, Jeremy Maclin caught a 13-yard touchdown pass.

“Anybody wants to criticize for going for it and being aggressive, have at it,” Harbaugh said. “I’m not apologizing.”

Cairo Santos kicked a 53-yard field goal to boost the margin to 17 points with 50 seconds left in the half.

That gave Baltimore enough time to pull off its biggest play of the day. On the final play of the quarter, Clausen launched an up-for-grabs spiral that Aiken plucked out of the air and took into the end zone.

Game notes
The Ravens lost CB Jimmy Smith to a thigh injury in the first quarter. … The Chiefs had no significant injuries to report.

— Associated Press —

By Marc Sessler, NFL.com

The Kansas City Chiefs are keeping Jah Reid around for the long haul.

NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport reported Thursday that the team has given the offensive lineman a three-year contract extension that will keep Reid around through the 2018 season, according to a source informed of the deal. Rapoport adds the contract is worth $10.2 million overall and can possibly reach $12 million.

Reid has made eight starts at right tackle this season and currently ranks as the 59th best player at his position, per Pro Football Focus. It’s hardly been a campaign of brilliance by the former Ravens blocker, but he gives Kansas City a depth injection and someone they can trust to fill in as needed.

Playing his best game of the year in a Week 12 win over the Bills, Reid has graded out negatively by Pro Football Focus’ metrics in all of his seven other starts.

Still, the Chiefs see something to like in the fifth-year blocker and made that clear with their wallet Thursday. It will be a merry Christmas in the Reid household.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs had relied heavily on their stingy, opportunistic defense during a six-game winning streak that vaulted them right back into playoff contention.

Their defense delivered again Sunday.

After shutting down San Diego most of the game, the Chiefs forced Philip Rivers into a pair of incomplete passes near the goal line in the final seconds to preserve a 10-3 victory over the Chargers at soggy Arrowhead Stadium that could prove to be critical in the race for an AFC wild card.

“If you’re going to be a good football team, you have to win games like this,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “We found ways to lose games just like this,” referring to last-minute losses to Chicago and Denver during a 1-5 start.

Ever since then, the Chiefs (8-5) have made it nearly impossible to get into the end zone. They held the Chargers without a touchdown when they played three weeks ago in San Diego, then did it again in the most dramatic of fashion on Sunday, with the game on the line as time wound down.

San Diego (3-10) got the ball at its own 11 with 5 minutes left and quickly moved into Kansas City territory, converting fourth down three times. But after Rivers was called for delay of game at the Chiefs 1 with 5 seconds left, he threw high and out of the end zone.

There was still 2 seconds left, and another incomplete pass that would have ended the game was blown dead for a false start. So with the ball pushed back to the 11-yard line, Rivers scrambled to his right and again threw to the end zone, where his pass to Danny Woodhead skipped incomplete.

“The defense hung tough,” said Alex Smith, who threw a 44-yard touchdown pass to Albert Wilson and finished with 191 yards passing. He also threw his first interception after a franchise-record 312 pass attempts, though that was quickly forgotten in the jubilation of the final seconds.

Playing through the flu, Rivers finished with 263 yards passing and an interception. Melvin Gordon was held to 35 yards rushing in another dismal performance.

“My wife just texted me and said my son said that was the greatest game ever if we’d have won,” Rivers said. “This is the story of our season, losing close games.”

It was evident from the first series that little had changed in the three weeks since the Chiefs shut down Rivers and Co. in a 33-3 win: The Chargers went three-and-out.

The teams started trading punts throughout the first quarter as rain and wind lashed half-empty Arrowhead Stadium. When the Chiefs got something going, they watched as Frankie Hammond fumbled a punt return. And when the Chargers began to move the ball, penalties shut down their drive.

Kansas City finally took the lead in the second quarter when it began a drive at its own 4-yard line. Eight consecutive running plays netted three first downs, and sucked the entire San Diego defense up to the line of scrimmage. The Chiefs took advantage when Smith hit Albert Wilson on a quick slant route, and he out-ran Steve Williams for a 44-yard touchdown reception.

Rivers was intercepted by Derrick Johnson on the Chargers’ ensuing possession, and Kansas City had just enough time to get within range of a 40-yard field goal for a 10-0 halftime lead.

The Chargers’ Josh Lambo atoned for an earlier miss with his own 30-yard field goal in the third quarter, but it was the Kansas City defense that starred the rest of the second half.

Dee Ford had his first three sacks of the season in place of injured All-Pro pass rusher Justin Houston, and the defensive backfield managed to blanket San Diego’s wide receivers. Gordon was bottled up all afternoon, and the Chargers were forced to abandon the run game in the final minutes.

Then, with the game on the line, the Chiefs made two of their biggest stops of the season.

“They just kept on fighting to the very last play there,” embattled Chargers coach Mike McCoy said. “This team has a lot of fight in them. I’m proud of them for that. But this is about winning.”

Game notes
Williams left with a hip injury and did not return. … Chiefs RB Spencer Ware ran for 52 yards before leaving with bruised ribs. … Ford finished with a team-high seven tackles. … The Chiefs sacked Rivers five times. … Chargers TE Antonio Gates had six catches for 76 yards.

— Associated Press —

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Marcus Peters and Tyvon Branch made the Oakland Coliseum feel just like home.

Peters, an Oakland native who grew up attending Raiders games, set up Kansas City’s go-ahead score with an interception and former Oakland safety Tyvon Branch put the game away with an interception return for a touchdown that gave the Chiefs their sixth straight win, 34-20 on Sunday.

“It was a whole lot more than I expected,” said Peters, who gave the ball from his interception to his mother. “It was hard, man, I can’t lie, to come out there and stay focused. My nerves were up and down.

“Early in the game my emotions were everywhere so it took for coach and the other leaders on the team to just bring me back. I made some silly mistakes early, but they reeled me in.”

Peters and Branch helped key a momentum-changing fourth quarter as Kansas City (7-5) turned three interceptions by Derek Carr into three touchdowns to remain in the AFC wild-card lead.

Alex Smith threw two TD passes to Jeremy Maclin after Carr’s first two interceptions to lead the opportunistic Chiefs to another win.

“We knew we dug ourselves in a hole in the beginning of the year, but we’re been battling back every week — just working hard and believing in each other and coming out with victories,” said linebacker Josh Mauga, whose interception started the fourth-quarter barrage.

Carr became the third Raiders quarterback since the team moved back to Oakland in 1995 to throw three fourth-quarter interceptions to send the Raiders to their fourth loss in five games and likely a 13th season without a playoff berth.

“I played a lot of football in my life, won a lot of games, lost a lot of games. But today was probably one of the hardest losses I’ve been a part of in my career,” safety Charles Woodson said. “That was a tough loss.”

The game turned odd late in the third quarter after the Raiders took a 20-14 lead on a 5-yard TD pass from Carr to Lee Smith. But Sebastian Janikowski hit the upright on the extra point, ending a streak of 225 straight makes.

The Raiders then forced a punt and were driving to make it a two-score game when Carr tried to make something out of nothing and it cost him. He tried to throw the ball away to avoid a sack, but was hit on the play and the ball went right to Mauga, who rumbled 65 yards to the 2 on the return.

“The only thing in my mind was try to get as close to the goal line or even score,” Mauga said. “I was hoping I could score, but I ran out of gas.”

Maclin then scored on a 1-yard pass from Smith. But the holder Dustin Colquitt couldn’t get the snap down and the Chiefs missed the extra point, keeping the game tied at 20.

Carr then threw another interception on the next possession after Michael Crabtree tripped and Peters returned it 58 yards to the 13. Maclin then took a short pass and ran 13 yards for the go-ahead score only to have kicker Cairo Santos miss the point after attempt.

The botched kicks proved contagious as Janikowski hit the upright again on Oakland’s ensuing possession on a 49-yard field goal try.

The Raiders got another chance, but Branch scooped up a pass that deflected off Cooper’s hands and ran it back 38 yards for the score.

“I’m pretty ticked off, especially on how some of them happened,” Carr said. “I get pretty upset. Those things will happen. It just (stinks) that it happened all back to back like that.”

The Raiders took a 14-7 lead going into the half after Woodson ripped the ball away from Kelce with the Chiefs in field goal range and returned it 38 yards to the Kansas City 36. It was Woodson’s second fumble recovery of the game and set up Michael Crabtree’s 25-yard TD catch.

Game notes
Former Raiders WR Tim Brown was presented with his Hall of Fame ring at halftime. … Chiefs DL Mike DeVito left the game with a concussion. … Raiders S Nate Allen left with a knee injury.

— Associated Press —

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Chiefs were quickly running out of offensive linemen as one by one they went down with injuries, and for the briefest of moments, Andy Reid might have thought he’d need to suit up himself.

Hey, it’s only been 34 years since the coach played for BYU.

The Chiefs ultimately got by with Jeff Allen, hurt earlier in Sunday’s game against Buffalo, getting back on the field. But things could be dicey going forward after left tackle Eric Fisher hurt his neck and center Mitch Morse sustained a concussion in the 30-22 victory.

To say nothing of the knee injury to Justin Houston.

The All-Pro pass rusher went down when he was tripped by his own teammate while chasing a play in the first half Sunday. He lay face-down on the field while trainers tended to him, then was helped to the sideline and into the locker room. He was seen limping out of it after the game.

Reid indicated the injury is similar to one Houston sustained in a playoff loss to the Colts nearly two years ago. In that case, it was a strained knee ligament — depending on the severity of it, such an injury can sideline a player anywhere from two weeks to half a season.

In the midst of a playoff chase, the Chiefs (6-5) visit Oakland on Sunday and are hopeful Houston will be back soon.

“He’s going to get an MRI today,” Reid said Monday. “I don’t want to put anything out there. Let’s see how that is how bad it is, and go from there. I think he’s doing OK.”

The Chiefs have rebounded from a 1-5 start in part because they have been better than other teams at dealing with injuries. Pro Bowl running back Jamaal Charles was lost for the season to his own knee injury, while offensive lineman Ben Grubbs remains sidelined by a neck injury.

Several other starters have missed time, including running back Charcandrick West, who had started since Charles went down but missed Sunday’s game with a hamstring injury.

“That’s one thing I like about my team. We find a way to persevere,” said Spencer Ware, who ran for 114 yards and a touchdown in his first start. “With Jamal going down and then Charcandrick going down, our whole team is filled with people that prepare like they are the guy, so when the time comes they’re able to step in. And that’s what we do.”

That’s what the Chiefs did along the offensive line on Sunday.

Reid said he would have slid a tight end or defensive lineman into the game ahead of himself if the Chiefs ran out of offensive linemen. But with injuries mounting on the defense line, Reid also acknowledged that “we were a little low there, too.”

“You can’t say enough,” said Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith, who was sacked just once but did not lose any yardage on it. “Three injuries, moving the line around, playing different positions and still being able to get it done really speaks to their depth.”

Reid has been in this position before, during his final year in Philadelphia. But he is confident that Kansas City has more depth than the Eagles did back then, when injuries conspired to send them to a 4-12 record and Reid was fired after 14 seasons.

“I’m always going to tell you, (general manager) John Dorsey and his crew do a phenomenal job of bringing these guys in,” Reid said. “You’re looking at guys with big hearts.”

Not to mention a team that, despite its ailments, is in the thick of the playoff hunt.

“It’s one of those things, next man up,” Chiefs linebacker Derrick Johnson said. “Coach Reid holds us to a high level, everybody across the board, second and third string, offense and defense. You have to come in and respond and play well.”

— Associated Press —

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs kept ignoring questions about the playoffs all week, even though Sunday’s game against the Buffalo Bills really was a matchup of wildcard contenders.

It’s going to be harder to ignore the postseason chatter now.

Alex Smith threw for 255 yards and two touchdowns, Spencer Ware ran for 114 yards and another score, and the Chiefs beat the Bills 30-22 for their fifth straight victory — one that solidifies their spot in the playoff chase with five games left in the regular season.

“We’re not really worried about all that,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “We just got over .500, think about that. All that stuff, if you keep knocking out the fundamentals and techniques, you don’t worry about that other stuff.”

One thing they don’t have to worry about? The head-to-head tiebreaker over the Bills.

“We made it tough on ourselves,” Bills quarterback Tyrod Taylor said, “but we’ve just got to take it week by week, day by day. Maintain a hungry attitude.”

Jeremy Maclin had nine receptions for 160 yards and a touchdown for Kansas City (6-5). Travis Kelce also caught a touchdown pass, while Cairo Santos hit three field goals.

The Bills (5-6) had a chance for a tying touchdown Sunday when they took over at their own 10 with 3:25 left. But after picking up a quick first down, Taylor was knocked out of bounds short of the marker on fourth-and-9 with 2:16 left, allowing the Chiefs to put the game away.

Taylor had 291 yards passing and three touchdowns, but he was mostly held in check in the second half. So was Sammie Watkins, who had all six catches for 158 yards and his two touchdowns over the first 30 minutes.

“We didn’t get the job done,” Watkins said. “We’ve got to put the nail in the coffin when we play great teams like this. You give them a chance and let them live, they start making plays — their defense starts making plays. We’ve got to put them away.”

Both teams sustained a rash of injuries as rain lashed Arrowhead Stadium all afternoon.

All-Pro linebacker Justin Houston was tripped by his Chiefs teammate in the first half and did not return with a knee injury. Left tackle Eric Fisher hurt his neck while center Mitch Morse sustained a concussion, and neither made it back onto the field.

Reid said the extent of all of them would not be known until Monday.

Bills running back Karlos Williams hurt his shoulder, while defensive lineman Alex Carrington — starting with Mario Williams and Kyle Williams out — was carted off with a right knee injury.

The first half amounted to a showcase for Taylor and Watkins.

They connected for a 48-yard reception on the game’s opening drive to set up Dan Carpenter’s 27-yard field goal. Then, two series later, Watkins ran away from coverage for a 28-yard touchdown reception that gave Buffalo a 10-0 lead.

Watkins added a 33-yard reception later in the first half, shucking Chiefs safety Ron Parker in the process, to set up his own 21-yard touchdown reception over Sean Smith’s flailing arms.

“Hey,” Smith said, “those guys get paid, too.”

The Chiefs answered by airing it out themselves.

Alex Smith hit Maclin for 37 yards early in the second quarter to set up Ware’s short TD run, and then found Maclin for a 41-yard touchdown reception to get within 16-14 at the half.

He beat Bills cornerback Ronald Darby, who just returned after undergoing concussion tests.

Kansas City took its first lead on a 15-yard touchdown pass to Kelce early in the second half, and Santos knocked through a 49-yard field goal to make it 24-16, before Taylor answered for Buffalo with a short touchdown pass to LeSean McCoy later in the third quarter.

Santos kicked his second field goal early in the fourth, then capped a 13-play drive that took 6 minutes, 31 seconds with a 37-yarder with 3:30 left that helped put the game away.

“It was a huge game,” Chiefs linebacker Derrick Johnson said. “We knew this was going to be an old-school fight, an in-the-back-alley-type deal. We came ready to play.”

Game notes
McCoy had 70 yards rushing and 31 yards receiving for the Bills to surpass 10,000 yards from scrimmage for his career. … Kansas City honored Hall of Fame offensive lineman Will Shields during halftime. … Taylor had 151 yards passing in the first quarter. … Alex Smith has now thrown 283 passes without an interception.

— Associated Press —

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Things are going so well now for the Kansas City Chiefs that they have a 346-pound defensive tackle leaping over the pile into the end zone.

Big Dontari Poe scored a 1-yard touchdown on fourth down and linebacker Justin Houston intercepted Philip Rivers and returned it 17 yards for a touchdown as the Kansas City Chiefs embarrassed the free-falling San Diego Chargers 33-3 Sunday.

With Alex Smith victorious again at Qualcomm Stadium, the Chiefs (5-5) won their fourth straight game following a five-game losing streak.

The Chargers (2-8) lost their sixth straight.

The Chiefs brought some defensive heat, even on offense.

After Charcandrick West was stuffed from the 1-yard line on third down on the Chiefs’ second possession, they went on fourth down, this time giving the ball to Poe. He got air and went in for his first NFL TD.

“I smelled the end zone, man,” he said. “At that point you’ve got to do whatever you need to get in there. I saw a couple of bodies there and didn’t want to take a chance. So I just did it man.”

The Chiefs have had the play in their playbook for a few years.

Poe is the heaviest NFL player to score an offensive touchdown, according to STATS.

“I needed it. I loved it. My eyes lit up,” Poe said.

“We keep putting him in as a blocker. I told him we’d give him the ball,” coach Andy Reid said. “I didn’t know he was going to jump over.”

Said Houston, with a laugh: “I told him I earned my touchdown. His touchdown was given.”

It was Houston’s first TD, as well.

“I was happy because we got a touchdown and it gave us seven points,” Houston said.

Houston had four of Kansas City’s seven sacks of Rivers in the 2014 season finale in which the Chargers were eliminated from the playoff race.

The Chargers pretty much melted down. Rivers had his worst game of the season, going 19 of 30 for just 178 yards. Tight end Antonio Gates was seen jawing at the quarterback on the sideline in the first half.

“Really what was said really doesn’t matter,” Rivers said. “Brothers fuss and fight, for any of you that have brothers. And I Iove Antonio and I think he will tell you the same thing.”

Rivers said Sunday’s face-plant “is about as tough as it gets and not like it hasn’t been tough the last five. This one, it gets even worse.”

Smith, who led Helix High to consecutive city championships at Qualcomm Stadium, completed 20 of 25 passes for 253 yards. He also ran seven times for 33 yards.

There’s a chance this was Smith’s last appearance at Qualcomm Stadium. Chargers chairman Dean Spanos has infuriated fans with his intention to move the team to an industrial suburb of Los Angeles, which would require approval of fellow owners.

“To have been able to play here and play high school football, it was a big deal,” Smith said. “To come back and play in college and in the pros, it’s been special.”

Smith broke Steve DeBerg’s team record of 233 consecutive passes without an interception. Smith threw his 234th straight pass without a pick on a 47-yard completion to running back Charcandrick West. Smith extended his record to 253.

The Chiefs turned to Poe to cap their second drive. The 6-foot-3 defender soared for a 6-0 lead. The PAT failed.

Cairo Santos kicked field goals of 28 and 24 yards, and Spencer Ware had two 3-yard TD runs in the fourth quarter.

San Diego’s only score was a 52-yard field goal by rookie Josh Lambo.

Game notes
At halftime, the Chargers inducted running back LaDainian Tomlinson into their Hall of Fame and retired his No. 21. … Chiefs WR De’Anthony Thomas suffered a concussion and West strained a hamstring. … For the Chargers, DT Sean Lissemore and S Jahleel Addae had concussions. RT Joe Barksdale had a hip injury. … This is the Chargers’ 20th nonwinning season in 32 years of Spanos family ownership.

— Associated Press —

DENVER (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs prevented Peyton Manning from getting the one record he really wanted, trouncing the Denver Broncos 29-13 Sunday on the strength of five interceptions and five field goals.

Manning entered the day with 71,836 yards through the air, 2 shy of Brett Favre’s record and tied with Favre with 186 victories.

He finished the day with just 35 yards on 5-of-20 passing, four interceptions, two sacks and an almost unheard-of zero passer rating before being benched late in the third quarter.

The only highlight for Manning was his milestone: a 4-yard pass to running back Ronnie Hillman. Even that didn’t come until he’d thrown his first interception, gotten sacked and fumbled.

With Manning’s sore right foot preventing him from stepping into his passes properly and getting zip on his throws, coach Gary Kubiak turned to longtime backup Brock Osweiler late in the third quarter with the Broncos down 22-0.

By then, Kansas City had forced four punts in addition to picking off four of Manning’s passes in sending the Broncos well on their way to their second straight loss.

The Broncos (7-2) saw their nine-game AFC West winning streak come to an end with their first loss to the Chiefs (4-5) since Tim Tebow was their quarterback in 2011.

The Chiefs won their third straight game thanks to a stifling defense and Cairo’s field goals of 48, 49, 34, 33 and 50 yards. He missed his final try, from 48 yards.

Alex Smith capped the onslaught with an 80-yard TD throw to Charcandrick West. Safety T.J. Ward was ejected for punching wide receiver Jeremy Maclin, who took out Ward on the play.

Manning showed no signs of his sore right foot or aching ribs in warmups, but that quickly changed when the game began. He has nine TD throws this season to go with an NFL-high 17 interceptions.

Rookie Marcus Peters intercepted Manning’s first pass, setting up West’s 4-yard TD. Then, on first down of Denver’s second drive, Manning was sacked by Jaye Howard for a 2-yard loss and fumbled. Hillman recovered.

The game was halted after Manning’s milestone throw to Hillman, and Joe Horrigan from the Pro Football Hall of Fame secured the ball.

Manning surely wanted no other mementoes from this game, the Broncos’ first regular-season loss at home since Dec. 12, 2013, against San Diego.

After trailing 19-0 at halftime, the Broncos tried an onside kick to start the second half, but Chiefs tight end Daniel Sorensen recovered, and Kansas City continued to control the field position game.

The Broncos were without Pro Bowlers DeMarcus Ware (back) and Aqib Talib (suspension). A third Pro Bowler, wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders, played despite missing all week with a sprained left ankle.

However, he didn’t catch any of the four passes thrown his way and he left in the second half with a possible concussion.

Osweiler gave the Broncos a spark, although his fourth-down throw to Demaryius Thomas was intercepted by Eric Berry in the end zone and two plays later, Smith found West for the long TD that made it 29-0.

Osweiler led them to two scores — on Hillman’s 1-yard run and Bubba Caldwell’s 7-yard catch — in the fourth quarter as the Broncos avoided their first home shutout in franchise history and their first scoreless game since Nov. 22, 1992, against the Raiders in Los Angeles.

Osweiler finished 14 of 24 for 146 yards with one TD and an interception. He was sacked three times.

— Associated Press —

LONDON (AP) — When Alex Smith had no options left, he ran. And he ran far.

The Kansas City quarterback carried the ball five times and gained 78 yards, including a career-high 49-yard scramble in the second quarter that set up his 12-yard touchdown run.

With a comfortable lead in hand, Smith settled into his usual role, throwing for 145 yards and a pair of touchdowns to lead the Chiefs to a 45-10 victory over the Detroit Lions at Wembley Stadium in the last of three regular-season NFL games in London.

“We got a lot of guys with a lot of different strengths,” Smith said. “We can present a lot to a defense. It’s hard for them to defend.”

De’Anthony Thomas, Charcandrick West and Spencer Ware also rushed for touchdowns — the first time the Chiefs had four different players rush for scores in the same game since 1960. Thomas ended up with 100 total yards, while West ran for 97. Travis Kelce and Jeremy Maclin caught the two TD passes in the second half.

“Alex was putting the ball on the money today and Charcandrick was running north,” said Kelce, who had six receptions for 49 yards.

The Chiefs (3-5) were at Wembley for the first time, while the Lions (1-7) played in London for the second straight season.

The Lions were playing for the first time since offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter took over for the fired Joe Lombardi. And although the offense got moving on the opening possession, it stalled horribly after that.

Matthew Stafford threw for 217 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. Also, Calvin Johnson had 85 receiving yards, while Joique Bell ran for 56. But after the Lions took a 3-0 lead on 35-yard field goal from Matt Prater, Detroit was hapless with the ball.

“Not a good outing, obviously. An understatement,” Lions coach Jim Caldwell said. “We ran the ball decently early on, but we reached the point where we wouldn’t be able to regain lost ground quickly enough to keep running.”

The Kansas City pass rush posed huge problems for the Lions, and Stafford’s two interceptions resulted in 10 points going the other way. He was sacked six times, including on fourth-and-8 near midfield early in the fourth quarter while trailing 31-3.

Smith also got tackled a few times, mainly because he was running effectively and picking up some key yardage. The quarterback helped set up the first touchdown by scrambling 8 yards for a first down. On the next play, Thomas ran in from the 10.

At the start of the second quarter, Smith ran for a career-high 49 yards to open a drive. On third-and-10 from the 12, Smith scrambled into the left corner to make it 14-3.

“He had some very positive yards for us at needed times,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “We know he can run. We don’t really want him to run, but if it works out that way that’s OK.”

On the defensive side, Sean Smith and Justin Houston both picked off passes from Stafford. Smith’s interception resulted in a 33-yard field goal from Cairo Santos. Houston’s pick set up West’s 8-yard TD run up the middle.

Kelce caught a touchdown pass from the 2 at the start of the second half, and Maclin scored from 17 yards right after Thomas returned a punt 37 yards to the 16.

With the game out reach, Stafford threw a 21-yard touchdown pass to Lance Moore. But Ware restored the 35-point lead with Chase Daniel in at quarterback by running in from the 4.

The Lions trailed by 21 points at the half, the same deficit they erased last year at Wembley by scoring 22 unanswered points against Atlanta. But Sunday’s ineffective offense will lead to more questions for Caldwell, who fired Lombardi after last week’s 28-19 loss to the Minnesota Vikings.

“Jim Bob called a good game,” Stafford said, “but we just failed to execute.”

— Associated Press —

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs had been in the same position twice before this season, trying to hold onto a dwindling fourth-quarter lead inside Arrowhead Stadium.

This time, they managed to do it.

Alex Smith calmly led the Chiefs downfield in the closing minutes, hitting Chris Conley with a short touchdown toss, and Kansas City held off the ailing Pittsburgh Steelers 23-13 on Sunday to snap a five-game skid with its first home victory this season.

“Not much different than the other two games, to be honest,” Smith said of the losses to Denver and Chicago.

“A little bit I think we just made plays down the stretch. That was the bottom line. Staying aggressive in all three facets of the game.”

Smith threw for 251 yards, while Charcandrick West added 110 yards rushing and his first career TD as the Chiefs (2-5) finally earned a celebration in their home locker room.

“This is something we’ve been working toward,” said Eric Berry, whose first interception since being diagnosed with cancer in December led to the Chiefs’ first touchdown.

Meanwhile, the Chiefs shut down Pittsburgh’s Landry Jones, who made his first NFL start in place of the injured Ben Roethlisberger and Mike Vick. Jones threw for 209 yards and a touchdown, but he was also picked off twice and lost a fumble that helped end the game.

“If I took care of the ball today,” he said, “we would be right there in it.”

Le’Veon Bell ran for 121 yards for the Steelers (4-3), who had won three straight against Kansas City. Antonio Brown had six catches for 124 yards, while Martavis Bryant caught his 11th touchdown pass in 12 career games.

“They made more dynamic plays than we did, particularly over the last 30 minutes of the game,” Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said. “They converted necessary third downs on offense and made dynamic, game-changing plays on defense.”

Tomlin said that Roethlisberger, still out with a knee injury, was close to being ready to play, and that the quarterback should be ready to go next week against Cincinnati.

“We decided to go with the guy that had the practice reps. That was the appropriate thing to do. No second-guessing,” Tomlin said. “We’ll move forward with Ben as we prepare this week.”

The first half amounted to a field-goal fest, which wasn’t all that surprising considering the amount of offensive talent that both teams were missing to injury.

Santos hit three of them after Chiefs drives stalled in the red zone, though he did miss a 54-yarder just before the half. Chris Boswell knocked through a 24-yarder for Pittsburgh.

The Chiefs finally established a cushion midway through the third quarter.

It began when Jones threw a pass over the middle that skipped away from Brown and right to Berry, who reacted quickly enough to make the diving interception.

The Chiefs capitalized by driving 47 yards, at one point using a hurry-up offense to keep Pittsburgh off-balance. West finally plunged in from a yard on third-and-goal to end a streak of seven trips to the red zone without a touchdown, and giving Kansas City a 16-3 lead.

“Unreal,” West said. “I feel like I’m still in the end zone.”

Pittsburgh quickly answered behind Jones, whose 41-yard completion to Brown helped set up its lone touchdown. Jones lofted a pass that Bryant hauled in while tip-toeing in the corner of the end zone — replays confirmed he made the reception after initially bobbling it.

The Chiefs were forced to punt, the Steelers added another field goal, and suddenly it looked as if another fourth-quarter lead would evaporate at Arrowhead Stadium.

This time, the struggling Kansas City offense — missing wide receiver Jeremy Maclin to injury and with a revamped offensive line — made every play that mattered.

Smith hit tight end Travis Kelce for a 26-yard reception to convert a third down, and West ripped off a 36-yard run moments later. He added a short run on an option play to convert another third down, and Smith hit Conley from 5 yards with 5:13 left to put the game away.

“We didn’t let off the accelerator for four quarters,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “I thought that was important.”

Game notes
Steelers CBs William Gay (shoulder) and Antwon Blake (concussion) left the game. Their status for next week was unknown. … The Chiefs last beat Pittsburgh on Nov. 27, 2011. … Chiefs LB Tamba Hali had his second and third sacks of the season. … The Steelers had been plus-6 in turnover differential, tied for the league lead. They were minus-3 on Sunday.

— Associated Press —