We don’t yet know who will win the AFC West.
But with Sunday night’s result, we do know another team that won’t.
With their loss to the Texans, the Chiefs have been mathematically eliminated from divisional contention. That ends a run of nine consecutive divisional titles for Kansas City.
The streak started in 2016, two seasons before Patrick Mahomes took over as the team’s starting quarterback.
At 6-7, the Chiefs can finish the season no better than 10-7. Denver won its 11th game of the season on Sunday, which means the club cannot finish any worse than the Chiefs.
Kansas City’s divisional streak is the second-longest in NFL history behind the Patriots’ streak of 11 consecutive AFC East titles from 2009-2019.
The Chiefs are currently No. 10 in the conference and will likely need a lot of help to just make it to the 2025 postseason. Kansas City will face the Chargers at home, the Titans on the road, the Broncos at home on Christmas Day, and the Raiders on the road to finish the year.
The Broncos didn’t clinch a playoff spot on Sunday, but they did clinch a significant tiebreaker advantage by beating the Raiders 24-17 in Las Vegas.
If the season ends with the Broncos and the Patriots tied for the best record in the conference, the Broncos would be the top seed because they swept the Raiders and the Patriots lost at home to Pete Carroll’s 2-11 team in Week 1.
Both teams are now 11-2 and the Broncos will move on to a home game against the Packers in Week 15.
The Broncos sewed up the win by grinding down the Raiders over the course of the afternoon. Their three scoring drives covered more than 28 minutes of game action and they wound up possessing the ball for nearly 40 minutes of the win.
Bo Nix ran for an eight-yard touchdown to cap a 14-play drive to open the game and rookie RJ Harvey closed out another one with a three-yard score in the third quarter. The Broncos’ longest drive was a 19-play odyssey in the fourth quarter that ended with a Wil Lutz field goal. The other Broncos points came on a 48-yard punt return by Marvin Mims in the second quarter of the game.
Nix was 31-of-38 for 212 yards and he completed passes to 11 different targets over the course of the game. Harvey had 16 carries for 75 yards to help the Broncos remain in control of the game.
The Raiders were able to answer Nix’s touchdown run with one of their own on the final play of the first quarter, but they only picked up two first downs over their next four possessions. They put together a better drive to close out the third quarter, but quarterback Geno Smith left the game before the fourth quarter with right hand and shoulder injuries.
Kenny Pickett threw a touchdown to wide receiver Shedrick Jackson in the fourth quarter. It was the first NFL touch for Jackson, who is the great-nephew of Raiders legend Bo Jackson. If Smith is out beyond Sunday, Pickett will be in line to start against one of his former teams in Philadelphia next Sunday.
Raiders quarterback Geno Smith remained in the game after injuring his right hand on a hit early in the third quarter of Sunday’s game against the Broncos, but he went back to the locker room before the fourth quarter got underway.
Smith exited with the Raiders facing a third-and-goal from the Denver 7-yard line and Kenny Pickett completed a two-yard pass to wide receiver Jack Bech on his first play. Pickett was not able to complete a pass to tight end Brock Bowers on fourth down, however, and the Broncos remain up 21-7.
CBS reports that Smith is being evaluated for a right shoulder injury as well as the right hand injury.
Smith was 13-of-21 for 116 yards and a touchdown before heading to the locker room. He also took three sacks in the first half and initially got hurt on a hit by Broncos defensive lineman Zack Allen on a pass attempt.
The Broncos’ bid to stay on top of the AFC playoff picture is off to a good start.
Bo Nix ran for a touchdown to cap a long opening drive and Marvin Mims returned a punt 48 yards for a score in the second quarter to give Denver a 14-7 lead over the Raiders in Las Vegas.
Nix’s score came after a 14-play game-opening drive ate up nearly nine minutes of the first quarter. Nix is also 16-of-20 for 110 yards through the air after 30 minutes of play.
The Raiders answered with a Geno Smith touchdown pass to tight end Brock Bowers, but three sacks of Smith helped keep their offense from finding any other success before the end of the half.
The third of those sacks came on a fourth down with three seconds left in the half. The Broncos passed on a 62-yard field goal try in order to try a Hail Mary that fell incomplete.
Sunday’s game between the Raiders and Broncos had a lengthy stoppage in the second quarter after an injury to Raiders cornerback Kyu Blu Kelly.
Kelly was checked out on the field after getting hurt on a short catch by Broncos wide receiver Marvin Mims and an air cast was placed on his left knee. A cart was eventually brought out and Kelly has been ruled out of the game already.
The injury came after a brisk first quarter that saw both teams drive for touchdowns.
Denver took up nearly nine minutes before quarterback Bo Nix ran for a short score and the Raiders answered with a pass to tight end Brock Bowers on the final play of the opening quarter. The score remains 7-7 with 10 minutes to play in the first half.
