KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — After the Kansas City Chiefs had beaten the Raiders when Las Vegas fumbled away a chance to kick the winning field goal on the day after Thanksgiving, just about everyone wondered when the fortunes of the Super Bowl champions would take a turn for the worst.
Turns out it wasn’t this week, either.
One of the most charmed teams in the NFL — maybe NFL history — won its 15th straight one-possession game on Sunday night when Matthew Wright, already kicking in place of two other injured kickers, banged a 31-yard field goal off the left upright and through to give Kansas City another heart-stopping, 19-17 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers.
It was the Chiefs’ sixth win this season decided on the final play of the game.
“I’m certainly glad that we’ve ended up on the winning side of those games,” said Chiefs chairman Clark Hunt, who also was able to celebrate a ninth consecutive AFC West championship, the second-longest streak of division titles in history.
“As we’ve been going through it, I’ve thought a lot about last year, where we had a lot of close games and they tended to go the other way, particularly in November and December,” Hunt said.
“It’s a credit to the level of competition in the National Football League. All these guys are professionals, they’re very talented and you know our guys have hung in there and found ways to get the ‘W’ at the end of the game.”
It all begs the age-old question: Is it better to be good or lucky?
Maybe the Chiefs are a little bit of both.
The Chiefs (12-1) now have a two-game lead over Buffalo after the Bills lost a shootout to the Rams, and it’s hard to argue they have lucked their way into the No. 1 seed in the playoff picture. But whether it was a toe-tap out of bounds against the Ravens, or three different kickers having hit game-winning field goals, the Chiefs have been operating on razor-thin margins.
So perhaps the answer is the Chiefs are simply good enough that it takes a near-perfect performance to beat them.
Meanwhile, a little good fortune never hurts.
“Even though I feel like we could have played better, I mean that’s a good football team,” Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes said of the Chargers, who have now lost seven straight to their biggest nemesis in the division. “As long as we have a chance to go out there and have the football and make a play happen, I feel like we’re going to make it happen.”
What’s working
The Chiefs are unflappable with the game on the line, and that bodes well for the postseason, when most games are decided in the fourth quarter. In the case of Sunday night, the biggest play was a third-and-7 completion to Travis Kelce at the Chargers 20 with less than two minutes to go, which allowed Kansas City to run down the clock for the winning kick.
What needs help
The Chiefs have struggled with inconsistency on offense all season, and Sunday night was another example. The Chiefs managed three scoring drives in the first half, including a crisp, efficient one that ended with a touchdown throw to DeAndre Hopkins just before halftime for a 13-0 lead. But the offense was unable to produce in the second half until it needed it the most.
Stock up
Xavier Worthy certainly appears to have broken through the rookie wall. The first-round pick had five catches for 41 yards against the Chargers, giving him 18 catches for 202 yards and a touchdown in his past four games.
Stock down
The entire Kansas City pass defense, which not only struggled to pressure Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert — the two sacks by Tershawn Wharton notwithstanding — but also has had trouble in coverage for several weeks.
Injuries
Left tackle D.J. Humphries pulled his hamstring late in his debut, leaving the position up in the air once again. The Chiefs signed the former Pro Bowl pick because rookie Kingsley Suamataia and second-year pro Wanya Morris had been ineffective.
Key number
80 — That’s the number of receptions by Kelce this season. It is his NFL-record ninth consecutive year with at least that many catches, moving out of a tie with Torry Holt, Marvin Harrison and Jerry Rice for the longest streak. And the overall total number of years is tied with Tim Brown for third most in NFL history behind Rice (12) and Larry Fitzgerald (10).
Next steps
The Chiefs play three of their last four of the regular season on the road beginning Sunday in Cleveland.
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