THE KANSAS CITY Chiefs coughed up an uncharacteristic four turnovers but still beat the Miami Dolphins 33-27 to clinch their fifth straight AFC West division title.
Quarterback Patrick Mahomes received a rude welcome in his first appearance at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium since he earned the MVP in a Super Bowl win over the San Francisco 49ers in February.
He was intercepted twice and sacked for an NFL-record 30-yard loss in the first quarter as Miami seized an early 10-0 lead. But the Chiefs scored 30 straight points to seize control and fended off the Dolphins’ fourth-quarter rally bid to improve to 12-1.
Miami’s defeat gave the Chiefs’ main competition for the AFC’s top overall seed, Pittsburgh, a boost, securing the Steelers’ first post-season berth since 2017.
The Steelers, chasing AFC North division title, face the Buffalo Bills later.
Mahomes’s interceptions marked his first multi-interception game in more than two years. But he threw for 393 yards and two touchdowns.
Tyreek Hill scored on a 32-yard run and a 44-yard reception and Travis Kelce had eight catches for 136 yards and a TD.
Mecole Hardman returned a punt 67 yards for a touchdown and Chiefs defender Chris Jones sacked Dolphins rookie quarterback Tua Tagovailoa for a safety.
Tagovailoa passed for 316 yards and two touchdowns to Mike Gesicki, cutting the deficit to six points with less than five minutes to play before Harrison Butker kicked a 46-yard field goal for the Chiefs with just over a minute remaining.
Mahomes kept that drive going with a fourth-and-one pass to Hill.
In other early games, the Tennessee Titans tightened their hold on first place in the AFC South with a 31-10 victory over the Jaguars in Jacksonville.
Tennessee running back Derrick Henry ran for 215 yards and two touchdowns. His fourth game with at least 200 yards and two TDs broke the NFL record he previously shared with Hall of Famers Jim Brown, Barry Sanders and LaDainian Tomlinson.
His ninth straight road game with more than 100 yards left him one shy of the NFL record established by Sanders over the 1996 and 1997 seasons.
Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers snapped a three-game losing streak with a 26-14 victory over the Minnesota Vikings.
Superstar quarterback Brady threw touchdown passes to Scotty Miller and Rob Gronkowski and the Bucs benefitted from three missed field goals and a missed extra point by Vikings kicker Dan Bailey to secure the win.
