KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — In a world of smartphones, text messages and Twitter, there’s a good chance that just about everybody inside Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday knew about the Chiefs’ precarious postseason position.

Well, except for the Chiefs.

Even as they were knocking the San Diego Chargers from contention with a 19-7 victory, they refused to ask about what was transpiring elsewhere.

It was only later that they learned just how close they were to hitting on a three-team parlay — Baltimore getting beat by Cleveland and Houston losing to Jacksonville — that would have gotten them into the playoffs.

“Nobody knew. Nobody wanted to know,” said the Chiefs’ Chase Daniel, who started in place of injured quarterback Alex Smith. “We were focused on the game at hand, the task at hand.”

By the time the Chiefs got to their locker room, though, they knew: The Ravens and Texans both rallied in the second half for victories, giving Baltimore the final AFC wild-card spot.

“We end up missing the playoffs,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said, “so while it’s fresh in the players’ minds, it’s important that they feel how important every game is in this league. There’s so much parity in the league and these games are so close.”

The playoff disappointment overshadowed plenty of positives Sunday.

Justin Houston had four sacks for the Chiefs (9-7) to break Derrick Thomas’ franchise record with 22 in the season. Cairo Santos kicked four field goals, and Daniel played serviceably in just his second NFL start, throwing for 157 yards without an interception.

The Chiefs’ only touchdown came when wide receiver Dwayne Bowe fumbled inches shy of the goal line early in the second quarter. Tight end Travis Kelce recovered in the end zone, not only giving Kansas City a 10-0 lead, but keeping a dubious streak intact: No Chiefs wide receiver caught a TD pass all season, the first time in at least 50 years that has happened.

“I honestly didn’t pay attention to that. I wanted to win,” Houston said of his record. “I felt like everything was going to work out in our favor if we won, we’d be in the playoffs.”

The Chargers (9-7) never really gave themselves a chance at the playoffs.

Nick Novak missed a 52-yard field goal attempt late in the third quarter. Midway through the fourth, a touchdown pass to Eddie Royal was overturned by a video review when the ball appeared to skip off the turf — San Diego went for it on fourth down and Philip Rivers threw incomplete. Then with about 4 minutes left, Donald Brown was stuffed on fourth-and-1 at the Chiefs 20.

Rivers was intercepted for a second time in the closing seconds of the game.

“Very disappointed the way we played,” Chargers coach Mike McCoy said. “Got off to a poor start, put ourselves in a number of holes. Too many penalties, not converting on third down.

“That was nowhere close to where we needed it to be.”

Rivers finished with 291 yards passing to go over 4,000 in a season for the sixth time, though he also threw two interceptions. Branden Oliver ran for 71 yards and a touchdown.

“They were better than us,” offensive lineman Chad Rinehart said, “and obviously it showed.”

In many ways, injuries crippled San Diego’s postseason hopes.

After starting the game without running back Ryan Mathews, wide receiver Keenan Allen and center Chris Watt, the banged-up Chargers watched right tackle D.J. Fluker walk slowly to the locker room late in the first half. He joined safety Marcus Gilchrist (elbow), cornerback Shareece Wright (head injury) and wide receiver Eddie Royal, who got hurt late in the game.

Injuries also took their toll on the Chiefs, who were 7-3 at one point this season.

Still, after weathering so much adversity, they still had a shot at the playoffs when the fourth quarter rolled around. They had already built a 19-7 lead, Cleveland was clinging to a 10-3 lead over Baltimore and three-win Jacksonville was leading Houston 17-14.

If all three scores had held, the Chiefs would have claimed the final wild-card spot.

Instead, the Texans took the lead a few minutes later. So did the Ravens. And when both held on, Kansas City joined San Diego in heading into the offseason.

“One thing you learn from it is when you’ve got it in your hands to control, you lock it down, so you don’t let that part get away, ever,” Reid said, “and from a coaching standpoint and a player standpoint, we didn’t get that done.”

Game notes

Chiefs RB Jamaal Charles ran for 54 yards, going over 1,000 for the season. … The Chiefs had seven sacks. … Rivers fell to 34-9 in regular-season games played in December and January. … Trevor Robinson became the fifth player to start at center for San Diego this season. … The Chargers allowed 111 yards rushing, one week after giving up 355 vs San Francisco.

— Associated Press —

The National Football League announced on Tuesday that four members of the Kansas City Chiefs have been selected to participate in the 2015 NFL Pro Bowl, presented by McDonald’s. The below players have earned a spot on the NFL’s Pro Bowl Roster:

Jamaal Charles (Running Back) – 4th Nomination

Tamba Hali (Linebacker) – 4th Nomination

Justin Houston (Linebacker) – 3rd Nomination

Dontari Poe (Defensive Tackle) – 2nd Nomination

The Pro Bowl will be played at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, on Sunday, Jan. 25, 2015. This year’s all-star game features the new format adopted in 2014. The familiar AFC vs. NFC match-up that existed from 1971-2013 will no longer be in place. Instead, players were selected without regard to conference in voting by fans, coaches and players. Players will be assigned to teams during the 2015 Pro Bowl Draft on NFL Network on Wednesday, January 21 at 7 p.m. CT.

Additional Information on Players Selected

Charles (5-11, 199) has started 14 games this season, recording 979 rushing yards on 193 carries (5.1 avg.) including nine touchdown runs. He has 38 receptions for 283 yards and five touchdown catches. With just 21 yards next week Charles will crack the 1,000-yard rushing barrier for the fifth time in his seven-year career. Most recently he eclipsed 9,000 yards from scrimmage, becoming only the second player in club history to accomplish that feat. He is currently the only back in franchise history to have four 1,000-yard rushing seasons.

A four-time Pro Bowl honoree (2010, 2012, 2013, 2014), Charles’ career numbers include 1,236 carries for 6,802 yards with 38 rushing touchdowns. He owns 260 receptions for 2,258 yards with 19 touchdown grabs. His 5.51 yards per carry average is the highest average in NFL history of any back with more than 1,000 carries, topping Pro Football Hall of Fame RB Jim Brown who averaged 5.22 yards per carry. The Port Arthur, Texas, native originally joined the Chiefs as a third-round pick (73rd overall) in the 2008 NFL Draft.

Hali (6-3, 275) has started all 15 games in 2014, logging 6.0 sacks (-40.0 yards) which ranks second on the team. He has added 57 tackles (45 solo), including seven for loss, 11 QB pressures, three forced fumbles, and a fumble recovery. He currently is a 2014 nominee for the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award presented by Nationwide.

A four-time Pro Bowl nominee (2011-14), the Gbarnga, Liberia, native grew up in Teaneck, N.J. He has started all 140 games he has played in during his nine-year NFL career with Kansas City, marking the most starts by any active player on the current roster. He has amassed 79.5 career sacks (-513.5 yards), ranking third in team history for most career sacks. Hali also ranks second in team history with 31 forced fumbles. In his time in the NFL, he has accumulated 533 tackles (412 solo), 127 QB pressures, seven fumble recoveries with one for a touchdown, 15 passes defensed and two interceptions, including one for a touchdown. The Penn State product originally joined the Chiefs as the team’s first-round draft pick (20th overall) in the 2006 NFL Draft.

Houston (6-3, 258) has started all 15 contests at left outside linebacker, posting 63 tackles (54 solo), including 20 for loss, an NFL best 18.0 sacks (-78.0 yards), 22 QB pressures, four passes defensed and three forced fumbles. This season, Houston recorded his fifth 3.0-plus sack performance of his career in Week 8 against the St. Louis Rams (10/26/14). Houston has recorded at least 2.0 sacks five times this season, which is tied (J.J. Watt, Elvis Dumervil) for the most among all pass-rushers in the NFL. His 18.0 sacks this season ranks second in team history behind the late Pro Football Hall of Fame linebacker Derrick Thomas who posted 20.0 sacks in 1990.

A Statesboro, Ga., native, Houston has played in 58 games (52 starts) since being drafted in the third round (70th overall) of the 2011 NFL Draft by the Chiefs. He has 243 tackles (211 solo), 44.5 sacks (-249.5 yards), an interception for 32 yards, 17 passes defensed, four fumble recoveries, six forced fumbles and 64 QB pressures. He played collegiately at Georgia.

Poe (6-3, 346) has started all 15 games at defensive tackle in 2014, posting 43 tackles (36 solo), including three for loss, 5.0 sacks (-22.5 yards), seven QB pressures and one pass defended in his third season with the Chiefs. His 5.0 sacks are a single-season career-high while his seven QB pressures tie for a career-high. Poe earned his first trip to the Pro Bowl last season after registering a career-high 4.5 sacks and was named second-team All-Pro by the Associated Press in 2013.

After the 2012 season, he received the Mack Lee Hill Award as the team’s top rookie or first-year player after recording 38 tackles (28 solo), including three for loss, three QB pressures and four passes defensed. Poe has started all 46 games he’s appeared in during his first three seasons with the Chiefs. He has 132 tackles (107 solo), including 11 for a loss, 9.5 sacks (-53.0 yards), nine passes defensed and 17 QB pressures. He has appeared in one postseason contest, recording one assisted tackle. A Memphis, Tenn., native, Poe was selected 11th overall in the 2012 NFL Draft by Kansas City after starring collegiately at Memphis.

— Chiefs Media Relations —

PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Pittsburgh Steelers spent two years rebuilding themselves on the fly, a necessary process that frequently looked more erratic than inspiring.

Consider the project nearly complete. The surging Steelers are heading back to January.

Ben Roethlisberger passed for 220 yards and a touchdown, Le’Veon Bell added a score and the Steelers locked up a postseason berth with a methodical 20-12 win over the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday.

“It was such a sense of urgency this week, knowing what was at stake,” defensive end Cameron Heyward said. “I just thought we answered the challenge.”

Pittsburgh (10-5) faces Cincinnati next week for the AFC North title. Either way, the Steelers are in the playoffs for the first time since Tim Tebow and Denver stunned the defending AFC champions in the wild card round three years ago.

That group was on the tail end of a stretch that saw Pittsburgh put together three Super Bowl appearances in six years. This group is decidedly younger. The Steelers won their third straight and are 7-2 since an October loss at Cleveland left them at 3-3.

Those days suddenly seem long ago. Pittsburgh kept the Chiefs in check behind a resurgent pass rush energized by the return of James Harrison. The 36-year-old linebacker missed last week’s win over Atlanta with a knee problem. He returned to pick up 1.5 of Pittsburgh’s season-high six sacks.

“We’re headed in the right direction,” Harrison said.

The Chiefs? Not so much. Alex Smith passed for a season-high 311 yards, but Kansas City lost for the fourth time in five games. The Chiefs need to beat San Diego next week and get some help to make it back to the playoffs for a second straight year under Andy Reid.

Moving the ball wasn’t a problem. The Chiefs outgained the NFL’s top-ranked offense 327-288 but couldn’t seem to get the one momentum-turning play that mattered. Kansas City came in second in the NFL in red zone touchdown percentage only to see six drives into Pittsburgh territory end with four field goals by Cairo Santos, Jamaal Charles’ fumble and a fourth-down gamble late in the first half that fizzled.

“There are so many little things that happened,” Smith said. “They’re not big things, but just little stuff that gets magnified.”

That’s the case this time of year. And the Steelers, after a brief foray into 8-8 mediocrity in 2012 and 2013, are back playing their best football when the temperature drops. A roster that’s undergone a youth movement since a Super Bowl loss to Green Bay four years ago is growing up quickly, though with a few familiar faces leading the way.

The Steelers’ win also eliminated the Dolphins from the playoffs as the crowded AFC field thins. Pittsburgh heads into the final weekend of the regular season with a postseason spot assured. The only question now is the destination.

Roethlisberger wasn’t as dynamic as he’s been at times this season but led a pair of long touchdown drives. The second ended with a 3-yard strike to Antonio Brown that gave Pittsburgh a 17-6 lead late in the third quarter. Roethlisberger briefly went to the locker room with a right knee injury but returned after a Kansas City field goal to guide a 12-play, 70-yard march that ended with Shaun Suisham’s 23-yarder with 4:04 remaining to all but clinch it.

A team that struggled closing out opponents early in the year has won three straight, with each one featuring a dominant finishing kick.

“You can see us cutting down the mistakes,” Bell said.

Instead, the Chiefs flinched, though not for lack of imagination. Kansas City put together a successful fake field goal in the first half that extended a drive but didn’t lead to the end zone. Trailing 10-6 late in the half, the Chiefs drove to the Pittsburgh 12 and faced fourth-and-inches with 27 seconds to go.

Rather than opt for a chip-shot field goal that would have trimmed the deficit to a point, the Chiefs went for it. Charles was drilled by Lawrence Timmons behind the line of scrimmage, and when Will Allen piled on, the Steelers had the ball and the momentum with a postseason berth just 30 minutes away.

“When your back is to the wall, it shows what you’re about and what you stand for,” Timmons said. “That was huge for us.”

Game notes

Brown finished with seven receptions for 72 yards. He now has 122 catches on the season, the third-highest single-season total in league history. … Charles was held to 29 yards rushing on nine carries, his second-lowest total of the season. … Pittsburgh has won six straight games in December.

— Associated Press —

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Andy Reid preached all week for the Kansas City Chiefs to rediscover their identity. Find the swagger that had gone missing during a three-game losing streak that put their playoff hopes in peril.

They found it during a five-minute stretch of the second half Sunday.

Their offense finally humming and their defense taking advantage of turnovers, the Chiefs scored three touchdowns in quick succession, propelling them to a 31-13 victory over the Oakland Raiders.

“It was kind of the focus all week of us kind of cutting it loose, going out there and playing for each other,” said Alex Smith, who threw for 297 yards and two scores. “(Reid) always talks about that, letting emotions show, and I thought guys did a good job of that.”

It took a while, though.

The Chiefs (8-6) were clinging to a 10-6 lead early in the third quarter against the same team that started their skid last month. But after Knile Davis scored a touchdown to cap a 70-yard drive, the Chiefs recovered a fumble, scored again, and then added one more touchdown to put away the game.

“Going into halftime, there were so many things we were so close on,” Reid said. “The guys settled down, they played — they let their personalities show.”

Just about the only downside for Kansas City was the big shot that Jamaal Charles took on a carry near the goal line. He went through concussion testing on the sideline and was cleared to return later in the game, but was eventually pulled with the outcome decided.

“It was a big hit but nothing else,” Charles said. “I’m fine.”

Derek Carr was 27 of 56 for 222 yards, throwing a TD pass in the final minute. But he also was sacked four times and fumbled a snap that led to a Kansas city touchdown.

The Chiefs, who had been poor against the run the past three weeks, even managed to bottle up Raiders running back Latavius Murray. The second-year pro had 112 yards and two scores on just four carries in their first meeting, but was held to 59 yards on 12 carries Sunday.

“Their athletes made more plays than we did,” the Raiders’ Justin Tuck said. “Pretty much it.”

The Raiders (2-12) have lost 10 straight on the road, and still have not won back-to-back games since Weeks 7 and 8 of the 2012 season. That includes a pair of duds in the appropriately named Show-Me State — they were routed 52-0 at St. Louis two weeks ago.

“You can’t just blame one area,” Carr said. “This is a team thing.”

Both teams got off to slow starts in a penalty-filled matchup, but Kansas City finally got a jolt of energy when De’Anthony Thomas fielded a punt at his 19-yard line. Picking up a nice block from Kelcie McCray, the rookie somersaulted over the goal line for an 81-yard touchdown return.

“It’s to the point where I’m starting to get a feel of it,” Thomas said.

Chiefs kicker Cairo Santos atoned for missing his first field-goal attempt since Week 2 early in the second quarter by knocking through a 41-yarder. The Raiders’ Sebastian Janikowski matched him with a 53-yarder as time expired to close within 10-3 at the break.

Oakland had a chance to make the game interesting in the third quarter when Travis Kelce fumbled and C.J. Wilson recovered. But in a fitting summation of the Raiders’ season, Wilson ended up hurt on the play, and the Raiders went nowhere before Janikowski kicked another field goal.

The Chiefs took advantage of the opening — and a roughing-the-passer penalty on Tuck — to go 70 yards on their next possession. Davis finished it off with a short touchdown run.

Carr fumbled the snap on the next play, Kansas City recovered and Smith hit Kelce from 20 yards for a touchdown. The Chiefs then forced a three-and-out, and Smith’s 70-yard throw to Davis a moment later capped their three-TD spurt and gave Kansas City a 31-6 advantage.

“The whole second half it started falling apart,” said the Raiders’ Charles Woodson, “and we were never able to recover and it got out of hand.”

Game notes

Chiefs LB Josh Mauga had an oblique strain and CB Sean Smith cramps. Both of them finished the game. … Kansas City improved to 6-1 when leading at halftime. … Carr now has 313 completions, becoming the sixth rookie QB to surpass 300 in a season. … The teams combined to convert 8 of 31 third downs. They also had 21 penalties.

— Associated Press —

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Kerwynn Williams went from pretending to be Jamaal Charles on the Arizona scout team this week to outgaining Charles in the Cardinals’ 17-14 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday.

“That’s storybook stuff,” teammate Larry Fitzgerald said.

With starting tailback Andre Ellington out for the season, the Cardinals turned to a guy who had been called up two days earlier from the practice squad. Williams delivered, rushing for 100 yards, 9 more than Charles.

“That’s who we are,” Arizona coach Bruce Arians said. “A team is what it takes. That’s what we’ve built this thing on.”

The NFC West-leading Cardinals (10-3) took the lead when Drew Stanton threw a 26-yard touchdown pass to Jaron Brown on third-and-18 in the third quarter.

The Cardinals’ seven wins are the most at home for the franchise since the Chicago Cardinals won 11 of 13 in 1925.

Arizona held on after winning a crucial reversal. Kansas City was driving with five minutes remaining when Arians challenged that tight end Travis Kelce fumbled after a 19-yard reception to the Arizona 22. The officials ruled that Kelce lost the ball before he rolled on his back and got to his feet. Kelce grabbed the ball back, but apparently not soon enough.

“He tried to maintain possession,” referee Craig Wrolstad told a pool reporter, “but he did not, did not regain possession.”

Kelce said he was “shocked” by the ruling.

“I thought I regained control of the ball,” he said. “But you can’t go back in time. I fumbled the ball. It was called as a fumble and I’m just going to have to live with that.”

Coach Andy Reid said “from my vision, I thought he regained possession of the ball, but I’m not making the call.”

Justin Bethel recovered at the Arizona 15, ending the last serious Kansas City threat.

The Chiefs (7-6) are tied with four other AFC wild-card hopefuls looking up at San Diego, Pittsburgh and Baltimore. The Cardinals have a one-game lead over Seattle, and the Seahawks travel to Arizona in two weeks.

Charles scored two first-half touchdowns on a 63-yard run and 18-yard pass from Alex Smith, but the Chiefs were shut out in the second half.

Reid said after the game that Charles had a slight ankle sprain and back spasms.

An offensive pass interference penalty against Anthony Fasano negated a Kansas City touchdown. Two plays later, Alex Okafor intercepted Smith.

The Cardinals drove to the Chiefs 26, and on third-and-18 Stanton threw over the middle to hit Brown in stride for the winning score. The 2-point conversion pass to John Carlson was good and, for the first time in the game, Arizona had the lead, 17-14.

Arizona rookie Chandler Catanzaro kicked three field goals but missed two, the first off the right upright, the second off the left with 1:09 to play.

That gave Kansas City a chance, but the Chiefs never got to midfield before turning it over on downs.

Arizona’s injury-riddled team got another when cornerback Antonio Cromartie left in the fourth quarter with what the Cardinals first termed an Achilles tendon injury, although Arians later said the Achilles was “stable.”

Ellington is out for the season with what Arians said after the game is some sort of hernia. He also had lingering hip and foot problems.

That led Arizona to bring up Williams for the second time this season. He had been released from the San Diego practice squad and never had carried the ball from scrimmage in an NFL game until Sunday.

Williams said the plan was for it to be “running back by committee.”

But there was no doubt who was the main man as the afternoon wore on.

The seventh-round draft pick of Indianapolis in 2013 revved up what has been a sluggish Arizona running game. He carried 19 times, averaging 5.3 yards per carry. The Cardinals had rushed for 99 yards in the past two games combined. They got 141 on Sunday.

In the first half, Smith completed 12 of 13 passes for 109 yards and a score. In the second half, he was 11-of-23 for 182 yards and an interception.

Charles gained 91 on 10 carries, 63 of them in one attempt.

Game notes

Chiefs still don’t have a touchdown completion to a wide receiver this season. … Arizona’s lone remaining regular-season home game is Dec. 21 against Seattle. … Cardinals are 7-0 at home, 13-2 since Arians became coach. … Fitzgerald played after missing two games with a sprained knee.

— Associated Press —