It is not necessary for Andy Reid to set up a stress test anytime soon. He appears to receive one each week.

The Kansas City Chiefs won their sixth consecutive AFC West championship as their third-string kicker didink a 31-yard field goal off the left upright and through.

Over the previous two seasons, it was the Chiefs’ fifteenth consecutive victory in a game with a single score.

In order to set up Matthew Wright’s fourth field goal, Patrick Mahomes guided the two-time defending Super Bowl winners (12-1) on a clock-killing 4 1/2-minute drive. Kansas City is 10-0 in one-score games this season after the ball clanged off the upright in their most recent close call.

As the season came to a close, the Chiefs saw three different kickers make game-winning field goals. In the history of the NFL, no other team has ever had several kickers in a single season.

Rather of attempting to score a touchdown and leaving time on the clock for Justin Herbert and the Chargers, Mahomes and Reid were happy to run out the clock for the game-winning player after collecting a first down inside the 2-minute warning.

Wright explained he was more concerned with what he needed to do if it came down to his right leg than he was with the game itself. Wright claimed that his idea wasn’t excellent as the ball began to drift to the left and head towards the upright.

With nine consecutive division crowns, Kansas City is just two wins away from the New England Patriots’ 11-game NFL record.

After the Chargers (8-5) punted on their first five possessions, the Chiefs led 13-0 at the half. However, LA came alive in the second half, scoring on each of its three drives. With 4:35 remaining, Cameron Dicker’s 37-yard field goal gave the Chargers a 17–16 lead.

After that, Mahomes got to work, rushing for another first down and hitting Xavier Worthy for 14 yards on third-and-10. The Chiefs were able to run the clock down to zero as Mahomes scurried, ducked a potential tackle, and threw a pass to a kneeling Travis Kelce after the two-minute warning.

In the last three games, Mahomes has absorbed 13 sacks, the most in any three-game period in his career, and was sacked three times.

After a 13-play, 79-yard drive that ended with a 3-yard touchdown run by Gus Edwards, the Chargers began the second half. With the help of a 39-yard pass interference call on Justin Reid, the Chargers gained 74 yards on four plays after a Chiefs punt, putting them ahead 14–13. For the Chargers’ first touchdown throw in 13 quarters, Herbert found Quentin Johnson for a 4-yard pass.

Following Kansas City’s pushback due to an unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty against Trey Smith, the Chiefs replied with Wright’s third field goal, this one from 50 yards out.

On their first drive, when Mahomes surpassed Dan Marino for the most passing yards in the first eight years of a career, the Chiefs settled for Wright’s 47-yard field goal.

The Chargers’ fifth punt came after Kansas City defender Nick Bolton struck Herbert late in the second quarter, causing him to miss a play. DeAndre Hopkins caught a touchdown pass after the Chiefs answered with a 9-play, 77-yard drive.

For the first time this season, Kansas City shut out an opponent in the first half, and their lead at the break was the biggest of the year.

Receiving Royalty

With a career total of 12,010 and a final receiving yardage of 45, Kelce is the only tight end behind Jason Witten and Tony Gonzalez. Among tight ends, he is the fastest to reach 12,000 yards.

Injuries

After trainers examined Herbert’s left leg, he missed just one play following Bolton’s blow. He was replaced by Taylor Heinicke. … TE In the third quarter, Will Dissly had a right shoulder injury and had to leave the game. … The third quarter saw an injury to wide receiver Jalen Reagor.

Due to a hamstring injury, Chiefs T DJ Humphries missed the game in the fourth quarter.

Up next

Chargers: Host Tampa Bay next Sunday.

Chiefs: At Cleveland next Sunday.