Chiefs beat Raiders 23-17 to enter playoffs on streak

Then, after Carr was picked off in the end zone by the Chiefs’ Ron Parker a few minutes later, Smith tossed another pass that was caught by Amerson and returned 24 yards for a touchdown that got Oakland within 14-10.

Travis Kelce #87 of the Kansas City Chiefs is tackled by Malcolm Smith and Charles Woodson #24 of the Oakland Raiders at Arrowhead Stadium during the first quarter on January 3, 2016 in Kansas City, Missouri. And with experience comes improvement, specifically for a player like Carr – who is as nice and humble as ever, but practices harder than anyone.

The Chiefs could play either Saturday, Jan. 9 or Sunday, Jan. 10.

The NFL’s window for teams to apply for relocation opens Monday, two days before representatives from the Chargers, Raiders and Rams make presentations to the league’s Los Angeles, finance and stadium committees at the NFL’s NY headquarters on the first of two days of meetings.

They didn’t play particularly well in the first half, but found themselves down just 14-10 after two quarters. On their first chance of the second half, Carr was sacked twice and Marquette King had his punt blocked through the end zone for a safety.

The Chiefs continued to pile on the ensuing drive.

Three picks in a row: Quarterbacks Alex Smith and Derek Carr threw interceptions on three consecutive pass attempts in the second quarter. A sack fumble by Carr which was recovered by the Raiders put them in a hole and on fourth down, time ran out before they could get the snap off and the Chiefs won it 23-17.

The Raiders made things interesting at the end, however.

The Raiders scored their first offensive touchdown with roughly two minutes remaining courtesy of a 31-yard pass from Derek Carr to Michael Crabtree. Defensively, the Chiefs yield 236.1 yards in passing and 101.5 yards in rushing.

The Chiefs recovered the onside kick, but Oakland used its timeouts and got a stop to get the ball back, but there wasn’t a last-minute drive for victory left in this Raiders season.

The Chiefs’ first-round opponent has yet to be decided.

If the Broncos win, the Chiefs will play at Houston as the fifth seed.

Either way, they’ll be in a position no one could have expected only 2 1/2 short months ago – in the playoffs, with their Super Bowl dreams still alive.