Chiefs hold off Browns 17-13 for 9th straight victory

“We have to play better, especially offensively, but we got the win”.

Even if the result was all too familiar.

Smith threw for 125 yards while running for 54, helping Kansas City (10-5) clinch a playoff berth when Pittsburgh lost to Baltimore moments after his own game ended. But they scored again before halftime thanks to Smith, who connected with tight end Travis Kelce on a skinny post for a 13-yard touchdown that gave the Chiefs a 17-3 lead. “I think this team and this locker room have a good mindset about going about their business”.

The Chiefs didn’t make it easy on themselves, though, and a large part of that was due to their subpar run defense – they surrendered 232 yards in 36 carries, an average of 6.4 yards per carry – and the play of Manziel.

After the Chiefs were forced to punt – a common second-half theme – the Browns continued to hog the football with a 21-play, 62-yard scoring drive that was prolonged by a successful fake punt. Trailing 17-13, the Browns’ first attempt at the lead was stopped after Manziel’s fourth and 10 pass hit the turf. Manziel had been driving the ball towards the end of the game, but the clock expired before he could get the final snap off in hopes of putting up a prayer.

“I’m definitely shouldering a lot for this loss”, he said.

“The guys around me played good enough to win the game, and I didn’t do enough for them”.

Leading the way was quarterback Johnny Manziel, who finished with 108 rushing yards (including a 34-yard run), followed closely by Isaiah Crowell with 88 yards. He twice was penalized inside the Chiefs’ 30 – once for an illegal forward pass and the second time for grounding on the ball tossed to Schwartz.

“Anytime you’re away from the game, you’re eager to get back”, Allen said.

The Chiefs have turned a 1-5 start to the season into their current 9-5 record, and if they can maintain their current form then they will fancy themselves to be real contenders in the postseason. It remains uncertain if Chiefs fans will see Dwayne Bowe on Sunday or not. That walk is more indicative of the older crowd whose dabbing efforts look like signs of possibly severe illness instead of a hip dance. But, the drive stalled and the Browns had to settle for a field goal.

The Cleveland Browns traveled to Seattle to take on the Seattle Seahawks.

The Cleveland Browns fall to 3-12 with the loss, and they could be in line to fall to 3-13 next week. “As long as Coach Pettine is our head coach, we will forever fight with him”.

“To be 1-5, come back and win nine straight, to battle – we’ve been in some battles, some close wins”, Chiefs wide receiver Jeremy Maclin said. Travis Benjamin and Duke Johnson were relatively silent today not providing many impact plays as they had for most of the season. “He just consistently wins”.

The Chiefs have four Pro Bowlers on defense, including rookie cornerback Marcus Peters, who’s tied for second in the National Football League with seven interceptions, is second with 23 passes defensed and has two touchdowns.

The biggest argument against Smith is he is a game manager; he rarely throws it beyond five yards downfield and has thrown more screens than any other player in the NFL.