KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Indianapolis Colts had watched the Kansas City Chiefs march downfield for an easy score on the first series of the game, yet nobody on their sideline seemed to be worried.

In fact, it seemed as if their confidence soared.

Andrew Luck answered by calmly picking apart the Chiefs defense, Donald Brown had touchdowns running and receiving, and the Colts didn’t allow another point the rest of the way in a 23-7 victory Sunday that could turn into a preview of an AFC wild-card game.

If Indianapolis ends up as the No. 4 seed in the playoffs and with the Chiefs assured of the fifth seed, the two teams would meet again in two weeks at Lucas Oil Stadium. Kansas City’s chances of winning the AFC West were dashed earlier Sunday when Denver beat Houston.

”There was no panic,” said the Colts’ Jerrell Freeman, who had two interceptions. ”When they got that touchdown we were like, ‘Aww, it’s OK.’ It’s just execution, and us not trying to panic.”

Instead, it was the Chiefs (11-4) who looked as if they panicked.

Alex Smith threw for 153 yards, but he fumbled once and was picked off twice. Knile Davis also fumbled the ball away, and the Chiefs were hit with several key penalties that scuttled any chance of mounting a second-half comeback in the frigid weather at Arrowhead Stadium.

”We’ll see them again,” Chiefs linebacker Derrick Johnson said. ”They’ve got the upper hand on us right now because in their minds they think they can beat us. If we go down there, it will be a different story. But we’ve got to fight our way back.”

The AFC South-champion Colts (10-5) have beaten the Chiefs in five of their last six games.

Jamaal Charles ran for 106 yards and the game’s opening score, but Kansas City failed to keep him involved as the Colts scored the final 23 points. Luck finished with 241 yards passing, while Brown gashed a decent run defense despite working behind a patchwork offensive line.

Adam Vinatieri also had three field goals for the Colts, who didn’t commit a turnover.

”That’s what coach (Chuck) Pagano has preached since I’ve been with the club,” Luck said. ”Limit turnovers on offense and create turnovers on defense.”

Early on, the Chiefs appeared as if they were going to pick up right where they left off last week, when they hung 56 points on the Raiders. They marched downfield on the opening drive, and Charles took a carry around the right side 31 yards for a touchdown.

The Colts defense stiffened after that, though, and the closest Kansas City came to scoring again in the first half came when Ryan Succop yanked a 47-yard field goal wide left.

”It was a team effort in not a very good way,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. ”You can’t pull your foot off the accelerator when you get out that quick.”

Meanwhile, Indianapolis kept taking advantage of breakdowns in the Kansas City pass defense, the most glaring one coming after running back Knile Davis fumbled in the second quarter.

Brown leaked out of the backfield unnoticed by the Kansas City defense, Luck hit him with a dump-off pass that he took virtually untouched 33 yards for a score.

”I think they busted the coverage,” Brown said, ”so that made my job a lot easier.”

Brown’s job wasn’t a whole lot tougher when the Colts got the ball back in the third quarter off Smith’s interception. He raced through a gaping hole, then tight-rope walked down the sideline 51 yards for a score – a video review showed that he somehow stayed inbounds.

Vinatieri added to the Colts’ cushion with his third field goal, capping a drive kept alive by a defensive hold and a taunting penalty after the Chiefs had already held on third down.

Smith was picked off again by Freeman in the end zone midway through the fourth quarter, and then the quarterback fumbled the ball away with 3:24 left to seal the game.

”The way we opened up, marching down the way we did, it felt like things were going to be the way they’ve been,” Smith said. ”We really didn’t get into a rhythm after that, didn’t execute in any area, and then the turnovers. The turnovers hurt you.”

— Associated Press —

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Jamaal Charles turned the Kansas City Chiefs’ playoff clinching party into a game-long celebration right from the start.

Charles scored the first of his team record-tying five touchdowns on a 49-yard screen pass on the first play from scrimmage, sending the Chiefs to a 56-31 win over the Oakland Raiders on Sunday that clinched at least a wild-card spot.

”A big part of this team depends on me, Charles said. ”Once I’m healthy this offense can go a long way and this team can go a long way.”

Alex Smith threw four of his five TD passes to Charles, going 17 for 20 for 287 yards to make the Chiefs the fourth team ever to make the playoffs a year after losing at least 14 games. Kansas City (11-3) is tied for first place in the AFC West with Denver but needs help to win the division because the Broncos swept the season series.

”Anytime you can be a part of the turnaround, it’s a special feeling,” Smith said. ”These guys have worked hard and deserve a ton of credit. It’s special to be a part of this.”

Matt McGloin threw four interceptions and lost a fumble while sharing time with Terrelle Pryor as Oakland (4-10) allowed the most points in franchise history and lost its fourth straight game. The Raiders had seven turnovers overall.

The performance drew constant boos from a crowd frustrated over 11 straight seasons without a winning record and raise questions about whether the Raiders are showing enough progress in year two under coach Dennis Allen to convince owner Mark Davis to keep him around for a third season.

”We get paid out there to play, we get paid out there to not let these guys light up the scoreboard the way they did,” cornerback Tracy Porter said. ”They did, in fact, what we didn’t want them to do. We have no one to blame but ourselves.”

There is not questioning the progress the Chiefs have made in their first year under coach Andy Reid. He took over a team that went 2-14 a year ago in a season troubled by the murder-suicide involving Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher, who shot to death the mother of his infant child before turning the gun on himself.

”It’s a feeling that you want everyone to have,” linebacker Derrick Johnson said. ”It’s a great feeling. What we went through last year to be in this situation and have an opportunity to do some big things, clinching the playoffs before the season’s over, it’s great.”

The addition of Smith to a talented roster that featured six Pro Bowl players also helped. Charles was one of those Pro Bowlers a year ago but he never had a game quite like this even though he only rushed for 20 yards in eight carries.

He did most of his work in the passing game, beating blitzes with screen passes and also having success running patterns downfield. He caught eight passes for 195 yards and four touchdowns in the third-most productive receiving day by a running back since the 1970 merger.

”I didn’t do much,” Smith said. ”I mean three screens for touchdowns. I’ve never been a part of anything like that or seen that.”

Charles joined Shaun Alexander, Jerry Rice and Clinton Portis as the only players since the merger to score five touchdowns and gain at least 200 yards from scrimmage in a single game.

”I don’t know how anybody can be more valuable to a team and the success that we’ve had than he has,” Reid said.

The Chiefs built a 35-10 lead before the Raiders scored three straight touchdowns to make it a game late in the third quarter. It quickly became a blowout again.

On a third-and-1, Smith found Charles on a wheel route down the sideline for a completion. Charles then cut toward the middle and raced in for the 71-yard score that tied Abner Haynes’ team record set in 1961 against the Raiders with five TDs in a game.

The Chiefs put the game away after Taiwan Jones fumbled the ensuing kickoff, setting up a 6-yard TD pass to Sean McGrath that made it 49-21.

Knile Davis’ 17-yard run midway through the fourth quarter gave the Chiefs the highest-scoring game in the NFL this season and the most points ever scored against the Raiders, breaking the mark of 55 last reached by Baltimore in 2012.

The Raiders were officially eliminated from the playoff chase for the 11th straight season shortly before kickoff and played like a team going nowhere.

The tone was set right from the start when Quintin Demps returned the opening kick 50 yards and Charles then took a short pass from Smith and raced 49 yards for the score. Charles scored on a 39-yard screen pass on third-and-19 on the next possession.

”We were anticipating screens,” Allen said. ”We just didn’t play them as well as we needed to play them.”

Turnovers left to three more touchdowns and Oakland trailed 35-10.

— Associated Press —

The Kansas City Chiefs announced on Friday that the club has signed wide receiver Chad Hall. The team has released defensive tackle Jerrell Powe.

Hall (5-8, 187) has played in 23 games (one start) in just over two NFL seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles. Hall originally came to Kansas City on Sept. 1, 2013 via waiver claim from San Francisco. He has played in eight games with the Chiefs recording one catch for nine yards. Hall’s career numbers include 15 receptions for 144 yards (9.6 avg.) with two touchdowns. He has returned 10 punts for 107 yards (10.7 avg.) and six kickoffs for 108 yards (18.0 avg.). He originally entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent with the Eagles in 2010. Hall played collegiately at the Air Force Academy and prepped at Wesleyan School in Norcross, Ga.

Powe (6-2, 331) originally joined the Chiefs as the club’s sixth-round pick (199th overall) in the 2011 NFL Draft. He was released prior to the start of the 2013 season and then rejoined the club on Dec. 3, 2013. He played in 10 contests in two NFL seasons with the Chiefs (2011-12), recording six tackles (five solo). Powe saw action in 37 games (22 starts) at Mississippi, recording 69 tackles (49 solo), 24.0 stops for loss (-80.0 yards) and 7.0 sacks (-29.0 yards). He also had an INT, two passes defensed, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery and three QB pressures. He spent one season at Hargrave Military Academy in Chatham, Va., and prepped at Wayne County High School in Waynesboro, Miss.

— Chiefs Media Relations —

The Kansas City Chiefs announced on Wednesday that the club has added wide receiver Jheranie Boyd to the team’s practice squad roster.

Boyd (6-2, 190) originally entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on May 6, 2013. He was released by the club prior to training camp and then signed with the Cincinnati Bengals on Aug. 1. Boyd was released by the Bengals on Aug. 25.

He played collegiately at the University of North Carolina where he caught 44 passes for 860 yards (19.5 avg.) with 13 touchdown receptions. He added 39 rushes for 287 yards (6.1 avg.) and one rushing touchdown. Born in Charlotte, N.C., he prepped at Gastonia High School in Gastonia, N.C., where he was a multi-sport standout.

— Chiefs Media Relations —

LANDOVER, Md. (AP) — Andy Reid referenced Nelson Mandela, Sporting Kansas City and mangled a metaphor about the Chiefs’ recent losing streak.

Mike Shanahan looked like a beaten man, one who might be counting down his final days with the Washington Redskins.

That was no thin line separating winning and losing when the Chiefs beat the Redskins 45-10 Sunday. It was a chasm.

The Chiefs (10-3) broke their three-game skid by doing what they did so well during their 9-0 start – beat up on a bad team. They scored on their first four possessions, sacked Robert Griffin III five times and Kirk Cousins once, and returned both a punt and a kickoff for a touchdown in Sunday’s 45-10 rout.

All of which prompted Reid to go off-topic, even in his usual monotone.

”Sporting KC, I’m telling you it’s hard to be a champion right? And they did it. I’m proud of those guys,” said Reid, referring to the team back home that won the MLS Cup on Saturday. ”I didn’t mention Nelson Mandela’s death the other day, but what a tribute to mankind he is.”

OK, but what about getting back on track after two losses to the Denver Broncos sandwiched around a defeat to the San Diego Chargers?

”It’s tough to lose three games in the National Football League, three consecutive games. It seems like a year, those are dog years as you would say – each week that you have a loss in the NFL,” Reid said. ”For the guys to come back and rebound after that, I was proud of that.”

Across the way, the Redskins were their usual drama machine. They lost their fifth straight, and the stadium was virtually empty in the second half. It’s already far from certain as to whether Shanahan will return for a fifth season, and now there’s a report that he was close to quitting last year because of his relationships with owner Dan Snyder and Griffin.

”It’s not the right time or place to talk about my relationship with Dan Snyder, or it’s not the right time and place to talk about something that happened a year ago,” Shanahan said. ”I’ll get a chance to talk to Dan at the end of the season, and I’ll give some viewpoints from me, and I’m sure he’ll give me his thoughts and what direction we’ll go.”

Shanahan did concede that Sunday’s loss – the Redskins’ fifth by double digits this season – was his fault.

”I didn’t have the players ready to play,” Shanahan said.

The first quarter was so lopsided that nearly all the footprints in the snow were on one side of the 50. That discrepancy was quickly corrected when the teams changed sides.

The score was 38-10 at halftime. Quintin Demps immediately answered the lone Redskins touchdown with a 95-yard kickoff return that resembled at times a winter stroll, part of a stunning tally of 321 return yards by Kansas City in the first half alone.

Alex Smith completed 14 of 20 passes for 137 yards and two touchdowns. Jamaal Charles ran 19 times for 151 yards and a score, and his 35-yard, right-then-left scamper was a highlight of the second half.

”You gotta go out there and play no matter what kind of conditions outside,” Charles said. ”Sleet, snow – you gotta go.”

Tamba Hali and Tyson Jackson each had a pair of sacks, and Derrick Johnson set up a touchdown with a 40-yard interception return. Dexter McCluster took a punt 74 yards for a score and set up another TD with a 57-yard return.

Fans mostly deserted Washington’s first snowy home game in decades, and those that stayed had plenty to boo. The Chiefs took the opening kickoff and gained 8, 9, 22 and 13 yards on their first four plays. The Redskins were a team with nothing to play for, and they looked like it. Shanahan eventually pulled the plug on Griffin, inserting Cousins for the final quarter.

”It’s a terrible game to be a part of,” Redskins linebacker Brian Orakpo said.

— Associated Press —

The Kansas City Chiefs announced on Tuesday that the club has signed defensive tackle Jerrell Powe and released defensive tackle Kyle Love. Additionally, the team has added FB Toben Opurum to the practice squad roster.

Powe (6-2, 331) originally joined the Chiefs as the club’s sixth-round pick (199th overall) in the 2011 NFL Draft. He has played in 10 contests in two NFL seasons with the Chiefs (2011-12) recording six tackles (five solo). Powe was released by the club on Sept. 1, 2013. He saw action in 37 games (22 starts) at Mississippi, recording 69 tackles (49 solo), 24.0 stops for loss (-80.0 yards) and 7.0 sacks (-29.0 yards). He also had an INT, two passes defensed, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery and three QB pressures. Powe spent one season at Hargrave Military Academy in Chatham, Va. He was named a Parade All-American as a senior at Wayne County High School in Waynesboro, Miss.

Opurum (6-1, 250) originally joined the Chiefs as a rookie free agent on May 17, 2013. He has served on the club’s practice squad before being released on Nov. 20. Prior to joining the club, he played defensive end and linebacker at the University of Kansas where he recorded 109 tackles (59 solo), 6.5 sacks (-47.0 yards), four forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and seven passes defensed. Opurum played running back for the Jayhawks in 2009, rushing 133 times for 554 yards and nine touchdowns. He also served on the school’s special teams unit. The Richardson, Texas, native prepped at Plano East High School in Plano, Texas.

Love (6-1, 315) has played in 42 games (25 starts) in three NFL seasons with the New England Patriots (2010-12) and Kansas City Chiefs (2013). He saw action in one contest with the Chiefs vs. San Diego on Nov. 24. He has tallied 65 tackles (36 solo), 5.5 sacks (-22.0 yards), one fumble recovery and one pass defensed. Love was acquired via waiver claim by the Jacksonville Jaguars on May 16, 2013 and released by Jacksonville prior to the start of the regular season. He originally entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent of the Patriots in 2010. Love played in 44 games at Mississippi State, finishing his career with 71 tackles. Born in the Republic of South Korea, the Fairburn, Ga., native prepped at North Clayton High School in College Park, Ga.

— Chiefs Media Relations —

Five former Kansas City Chiefs players have filed suit against the team because of head injuries suffered between 1987 and 1993.

The players, Alexander Louis Cooper, Leonard Griffin, Christopher Martin, Joseph Phillips and Kevin Porter claim that they suffered from post-concussion syndrome and latent brain disease, including, Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE).

According to the lawsuit, the team directly caused of directly contributed to those symptoms, actively downplayed the seriousness of head injuries and prevented the players from ascertaining their injuries.

The lawsuit claims the team’s negligence directly caused or directly contributed to cause the players to suffer from severe and persistent headaches, post-concussion syndrome, depression, mood swings, explosivity, suicidal ideations, and CTE.

The players claim the Chiefs represented to the plaintiffs that concussions are not a serious injury and that concussions cause no long-term health effects. They go on to state that the team was driven by profit motives “so the plaintiffs would continue to play unimpeded by the risks of latent neurological diseases.”

The plaintiffs are demanding a jury trial, claiming they are entitled to actual and punitive damages in excess of $15,000 for the team’s alleged negligent misrepresentation, fraudulent concealment and for the players’ spouses’ loss of consortium.

The lawsuit was filed in Jackson County Circuit Court.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs had no answer for Peyton Manning and Eric Decker.

In two tries this season, they haven’t had an answer for the Denver Broncos, either.

Manning threw for 403 yards and five touchdowns, four of them to Decker, and the Broncos held off a furious rally to beat the Chiefs 35-28 on Sunday and seize control of the AFC West.

Decker had eight catches for a career-high 174 yards for the Broncos (10-2), who moved a game clear of the Chiefs (9-3) in the division. With four games left, Denver also holds the tiebreaker by virtue two wins over Kansas City in the last three weeks. The Broncos have the AFC’s best record.

Jamaal Charles had 93 yards rushing for the Chiefs, and capped a 17-play drive with a 1-yard touchdown run with 6:32 left in the game to close within a touchdown.

After forcing a punt with 3:32 remaining, Kansas City used three long pass plays to move deep into Broncos territory. But Alex Smith’s pass to Dwayne Bowe in the end zone on fourth-and-4 with 1:45 left fell incomplete, allowing the Broncos to run out the clock.

Smith threw for 293 yards and two touchdowns for Kansas City, while Knile Davis returned a kickoff 108 yards for another score as the Chiefs jumped out to a 21-7 lead.

The Broncos promptly scored 28 straight points to take control.

Denver did it without of slew of injured players, including three starters on defense and tight end Julius Thomas, who has developed into one of Manning’s favorite red-zone targets.

No need to worry. Decker more than shouldered the burden.

The fourth-year pro caught a 41-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter, two more TD passes in the third and a short fade for a score in the fourth quarter. Most of the time, Decker was abusing Chiefs defensive back Marcus Cooper, an undrafted free agent who’d become a starter.

Manning now has 41 TD passes, breaking his franchise record of 37 set last season.

The Broncos rebounded nicely from a disheartening overtime loss last week in New England, and are poised to get coach John Fox back on Monday. They went 3-1 under interim coach Jack Del Rio, who stepped in when Fox needed heart surgery during the team’s bye week.

The Chiefs, who lost for the third straight week, squandered far too many chances on Sunday, including one right of the gate. They had marched deep into Broncos territory before Smith was picked off by Wesley Woodyard in the end zone.

Still, Kansas City seemed to have more energy in the first half.

The Chiefs took the first lead when Smith threw a touchdown pass to Junior Hemingway. And after Decker beat Brandon Flowers for a tying score, Davis took the ensuing kickoff deep in his own end zone and stepped out of two tackles before running untouched the rest of the way for a touchdown.

The 108-yard return was the longest in franchise history, and the first return touchdown by a Chiefs player since Jamaal Charles took a kickoff back against the Steelers during the 2009 season.

Smith’s touchdown pass to Anthony Fasano, who made a nice one-handed grab, made it 21-7.

The Broncos closed within a touchdown later in the half when Manning hooked up with Decker for another long gain. This time, it was a short TD pass to Knowshon Moreno that capped the drive.

Manning began the second half off with a 37-yard touchdown pass to Decker, who made a nifty grab with his fingertips as he rolled into the end zone. Then after forcing a punt, the 12-time Pro Bowler hit Demaryius Thomas for 77 yards to set up Decker’s 15-yard touchdown reception.

The Broncos’ run of points ended when Decker caught a fade pass for a 35-21 lead. It turned out to be all the points they needed.

— Associated Press —

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Philip Rivers called it the kind of game that could save the Chargers’ season. Seyi Ajirotutu called its defining play the greatest catch of his career.

The once-embattled quarterback stoically marched San Diego downfield against Kansas City on Sunday, and then found his unheralded wide receiver with a 26-yard scoring strike with 24 seconds remaining that gave San Diego a 41-38 victory and ended its three-game losing streak.

“It’s one of those you’ll never forget, that’s for sure,” said Rivers, who threw for 392 yards and three touchdowns against a Kansas City defense that had been among the NFL’s best.

“It’s kind of what our season’s been about,” Rivers said. “Can you drive and score at the end?”

The touchdown pass to Ajirotutu answered one that Alex Smith had thrown to Dwayne Bowe with 1:22 left in the game — one that had seemingly given the Chiefs (9-2) the victory.

It turned out there’d be more lead change in a game that had eight of them.

“Philip said, `Fly on the boundary,” Ajirotutu said, “so I knew that’s a little code word that he usually says that the ball’s coming to you.”

Smith wound up throwing for 292 yards and three touchdowns for the Chiefs, who lost their second straight after a 9-0 start. They also lost top pass rushers Tamba Hali and Justin Houston to injuries, and now face the prospect of playing the Broncos next week without them.

Hali has a sprained right ankle and Houston a sprained left elbow, and Chiefs coach Andy Reid said that both of them are due for MRI exams on Monday.

“I’m not making excuses,” Reid said. “The next guy has to come in and we expect them to step up and make plays. There’s no excuses.”

San Diego (5-6) finished with 491 yards of offense against a Chiefs defense that had allowed more than 17 points just once: last week’s 27-17 defeat in Denver.

Danny Woodhead had touchdowns rushing and receiving as he picked up the slack for Chargers running back Ryan Mathews, who left with a hamstring injury. Ladarius Green had a 60-yard touchdown reception in the fourth quarter, while Keenan Allen had nine catches for 124 yards.

Of course, it was Rivers who made the entire offense sing.

“I’ll tell you right now, we’ve got a great quarterback,” Chargers coach Mike McCoy said. “There was no doubt in my mind at the end of the game he was going out and scoring.”

Jamaal Charles added 115 yards rushing and two touchdowns for the Chiefs, while Donnie Avery had four catches for 91 yards and a score in their best offensive game of the year.

“I mean, you’d like to take positives away form games,” Smith said, “but right now it wasn’t enough. We didn’t do enough as a team to come out on top.”

The game turned into a back-and-forth nail-biter in the second half.

San Diego pulled ahead 17-14 when a 54-yard pass to Eddie Royal set up a 1-yard TD run by Mathews. But the Chargers helped the Chiefs take the lead right back with three pass interference penalties that gave them the ball at the San Diego 1. Charles’ second touchdown made it 21-17.

The Chargers’ struggling defensive backfield got one back on the Chiefs’ next series. Shareece Wright, who had one of those pass interference penalties, batted a pass to Marcus Gilchrist, who had one of the others. The interception set up Woodhead’s 3-yard touchdown run.

Kansas City retook the lead at 28-24 on Smith’s short pass to Anthony Fasano, but after the teams traded chip-shot field goals, the Chargers took it right back.

Rivers hit Green on a quick slant, and the tight end ran 60 yards for his first career touchdown. It gave the Chargers a 34-31 lead with 7:50 left.

The Chiefs answered the call, only for the Chargers to trump them in the end.

“That’s what the game’s all about,” McCoy said. “When the game’s on the line, who’s going to come up and make the big play? Who’s going to make the big stop?”

— Associated Press —