The Chiefs secure their spot in the playoffs with an “ugly win” over the Raiders

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs clinched a playoff spot for the 10th straight season with their 19-17 win over the Las Vegas Raiders on Friday — but for some players, that win didn’t necessarily feel the same to the others .

The Chiefs had to hold on until the end to overcome the Raiders 2:10. The game was decided when Kansas City recovered a Las Vegas fumble with 11 seconds left. The Chiefs then ran out the clock with one snap and secured another win.

They are 11-1, but five of their wins have come later than this one. These games were decided in the last snap.

“It’s not perfect and we had a lot of games this year where we didn’t play the way we wanted to play,” Chiefs cornerback Trent McDuffie said. “The thing about a championship team is games like this where things aren’t right.” Not perfect. You’re grateful you won, but you know you set the standard. And when we have games like that and feel like we didn’t live up to the standards we set, it’s always a little disappointing, a little frustrating.”

The Chiefs can clinch their ninth straight AFC West championship by beating the Los Angeles Chargers next Sunday night at Arrowhead Stadium. They extended their lead over the Buffalo Bills 9-2 and secured the No. 1 seed in the AFC.

They experienced many anxious moments along the way. Late in the third quarter, the Chiefs appeared to have a comfortable lead of 16-3.

The Raiders, who came into Friday’s game after seven straight losses, managed to take the lead with consecutive touchdown drives. The Chiefs got the ball back with a field goal, but saw the Raiders reach the edge of field goal range at the Kansas City 32-yard line after a fumble.

“If you’re going to secure a spot in the playoffs, that’s your first goal: to get into the playoffs and give yourself a shot at the Super Bowl,” quarterback Patrick Mahomes said. “But we know we still have a long way to go. “We have to keep working to get better and continue to be a better football team.

“It keeps you hungry. You’re not happy with where we are, even though we’re winning football games, and that’s why we know we have to get better. I think everyone in the locker room knows we have to get better, but “We want to go out there and do that and prove that.”

The Chiefs survived in similar fashion against another sub-.500 opponent last week. They led the Carolina Panthers by 14 points late in the first half, but needed a walk-off field goal to get one of those wins on the final play of the game.

Defensive tackle Chris Jones had two sacks, his first since Week 4. He said the Chiefs would remember the many things they did wrong against the Raiders – allowing two long touchdown passes, allowing his two offsides penalties and 434 yards to achieve – as much as what they have achieved.

He also suggested that another close result would be good for Kansas City.

“When you look at the playoffs, most of the games are close games that come down to the wire, so as a team we can build a lot from that overall,” Jones said. “We’ll just get through it.” Keep winning, keep winning. You can learn a lot from winning.

“It is better to win than to suffer a beautiful defeat. We take an ugly win, build on it and continue to get better.”