Quarterback Patrick Mahomes threw for two touchdowns and ran for another on Sunday as his Kansas City Chiefs clinched their eighth straight NFL playoff berth.
Jerick McKinnon’s 26-yard touchdown run in overtime gave the Chiefs a hard-fought 30-24 victory in Houston over the Texans to clinch the seventh straight AFC West title for Kansas City.
Mahomes completed 36 of 41 passes, including a game-ending 20 in a row, for 336 yards without an interception and rushed for 33 yards to spark a second-half comeback.
“It’s great to win” the AFC West for the seventh straight time, Mahomes said.
“We have to get better and better as we try to make our way to the playoffs,” added the quarterback.
The Chiefs (11-3) joined the Philadelphia Eagles, San Francisco 49ers, Buffalo Bills and Minnesota Vikings with clinched postseason berths.
For its part, Dallas Cowboys, despite losing to Jacksonville (40-34), finally got a ticket to the playoffs thanks to Washington’s 20-12 defeat against the NY Giants.
Jacksonville, which improved to 6-8, scored three touchdowns in a span of nine minutes in the third and fourth quarters and Riley Patterson kicked a 48-yard field goal to force overtime.
However, thanks to Washington’s loss to the NY Giants, Dallas was able to get a place in the playoffs.
The Eagles improved to the best record in the NFL to 13-1 with a 25-20 win in Chicago against the Bears. Jalen Hurts rushed 17 times for 61 yards and three touchdowns and also threw for 315 yards to power Philadelphia, which won despite three turnovers.
For its part, New Orleans topped visiting Atlanta 21-18 while Pittsburgh beat Carolina 24-16 in matchups between clubs with losing records.
– Results of Sunday in the 15th day of the NFL:
Philadelphia 25 Chicago 20
Atlanta 18 New Orleans 21
Detroit 20 New York Jets 17
Pittsburgh 24 Carolina 16
Dallas 34 Jacksonville 40 (in overtime)
Kansas City 30 Houston 24 (in overtime)
Arizona 15 Denver 24
New England 24 Las Vegas 30
Tennessee 14 Los Angeles Chargers 17
Cincinnati 34 Tampa Bay 23
NY Giants in Washington 20-12
– Played on Saturday:
Indianapolis 36 Minnesota 39 (OT)
Baltimore 3 Cleveland 13
Miami 29 Buffalo 32
– Played on Thursday:
San Francisco 21 Seattle 13
– To be played on Monday:
Los Angeles Rams vs Green Bay
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