Chiefs beat Bengals, lock up 8th division title in a row

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KSNT) - The Kansas City Chiefs are AFC West champions again.

The Chiefs beat the Bengals, 25-17, on Sunday to improve to 10-6 and clinch the AFC West title. With the title, they clinched a spot in the playoffs. It's the eighth-straight AFC West title for Kansas City.

The Bengals took almost nine minutes off the clock on the opening drive. After working the field and getting down to the 24 yard line, the Chiefs' defense held Cincinnati to a field goal.

Kansas City's offense looked like itself on the following drive. An eight-yard pass from Patrick Mahomes to Isiah Pacheco got the Chiefs a 7-3 lead.

However, the Bengals answered with two touchdowns. The second came after a Chiefs fumble that Cincinnati recovered on Kansas City's 24 yard line. The Bengals held a 17-7 lead with 6:23 left in the first half.

The Chiefs could only finish out the half with two field goals, after two incomplete passes stalled the drives. Kansas City trailed 17-13 at the half.

Kansas City's defense stayed strong in the second half, making way for the offense to get closer to the lead. It couldn't get a touchdown, but Harrison Butker made his third field goal get the Chiefs within one point of the lead with 4:31 left in the third quarter.

The pass game had a little more success in the fourth quarter. A 67-yard completion to Rashee Rice led to another field goal and the Chiefs' first lead since the first quarter, 19-17, with 14:09 to play.

Field goals continued to be the name of the game for the Chiefs, as they added two more in the fourth to extend their lead to 25-17.

The Bengals got the ball back, still within one score, in the final minutes of the game but turned the ball over on downs to wrap things up.

Mahomes finished with 245 passing yards, one touchdown and zero interceptions.

The Chiefs end the regular season at the Chargers on Sunday, Jan. 7.