Chiefs clinch AFC West title with win over Titans, Chargers loss

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- With Kansas City's greatest one-year turnaround came great reward.

Three hours after racing past Tennessee 34-14 Sunday, the Chiefs became AFC West champions when Cincinnati upended four-time defending champion San Diego.

Kansas City did what it needed to do and dominated Tennessee. Later, the Chiefs got a gift when Cincinnati upended San Diego, handing them the AFC West title. Take a look at the playoff picture. More ...

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The Chargers' loss gave Kansas City (10-5) its first division title since Dick Vermeil's 2003 Chiefs went 13-3. Kansas City's 10 wins in Todd Haley's second season as coach are six better than last year's 4-12 mark and match the total of the past three miserable seasons combined.

Minutes after beating the Titans, the Chiefs knew their playoff goal was oh, so close, and were in no mood to celebrate their historic turnaround.

"It just means we were just that bad last year," guard Brian Waters said. "Our goal is to get to the next part of the season."

They are there, although everyone around Arrowhead Stadium has been trying to avoid even saying the word "playoffs" all week. There was obvious pride in winning 10 games; in the Chiefs' first 50 years, five wins had been the biggest one-year improvement.

"It's a huge accomplishment," said quarterback Matt Cassel, who threw three touchdown passes in the first half against the Titans.

"It's a huge turnaround for us, being 4-12 and going through the year we did last year. I know there's a ton of adversity and all those things were very difficult to handle at times. But to be here with 10 wins on our season and one win away from a division championship -- I mean, it's remarkable to say the least."

Cassel connected with Jamaal Charles for touchdowns on Kansas City's first two possessions and Eric Berry returned an interception 54 yards for another score as the Chiefs raced to a 31-7 halftime lead. Cassel hit 12 of his first 13 passes.

The Titans (6-9) spent much of the game dropping passes, missing arm tackles and piling up penalties while losing for the seventh time in eight games.

Dwayne Bowe had six catches for 153 yards, including a career-long 75-yard touchdown as the Chiefs remained unbeaten in seven home games.

The Chiefs had 327 of their 458 total yards and all but three of their points while rolling up a 31-7 halftime lead.

"The game got out of reach early," Titans coach Jeff Fisher said. "You've got to execute to near-perfection when you get down like we were and we just didn't do that."

A couple of times in the ragged second half, it seemed fights were about to break out. By the end of the third quarter, each team had three unnecessary roughness penalties.

"It's just two physical teams going at it," Chiefs cornerback Brandon Flowers said. "Wasn't nobody going to back down. So when you get two teams like that, stuff like that is going to happen."

The Titans, one of the league's most penalized teams, were flagged nine times for 74 yards, while the Chiefs uncharacteristically drew seven penalties for 84.

Chris Johnson, the fourth-leading rusher in the NFL, had only 58 yards on 14 carries for the Titans.

"It's always disappointing when you're not able to run the ball. Anytime you get down like we were, there's not much you can do," he said. "They were stacking the box. But that's not why I didn't have a big day. It's the number of touches that I had. When you go down by that many points, it's going to be hard to have a big day."

In his second game since undergoing an emergency appendectomy on Dec. 8, Cassel was 24 for 34 for 314 yards and three TDs. He was not intercepted.

Kerry Collins, nearing the end of his 16th season, hit a career milestone that gave him little satisfaction. On his 53-yard touchdown pass to Kenny Britt in the second quarter, he became the 12th quarterback to go over 40,000 yards passing. He also connected with Jared Cook on a 22-yard touchdown pass and was 14 for 37 for 235 yards and two touchdowns. He was intercepted twice.

"There will be time for me to think about it and I understand it's an accomplishment," he said. "But the emotions are so bitter over today and the way the season has gone, it's just hard to feel good about it." Cassel was 4 for 4 on Kansas City's first possession, capping it with a screen pass to Charles that went 14 yards. After a Titans punt, Cassel was 6 for 7 in a 10-play, 61-yard drive. On second down from the 5, he tossed a perfectly timed fade pass to Charles in the corner of the zone for a 14-0 lead.

On Kansas City's next possession, Ryan Succop made a 35-yard field goal. He also kicked a 42-yarder in the third.

Bowe, whose hot-and-cold season has included a two-game stretch where he had only one catch, got behind the secondary on a third-and-19 play from the Kansas City 25. Hauling in Cassel's pass near the 50, he quickly changed direction and sprinted into the end zone for the 75-yard touchdown play.

With 22 seconds left in the half, Berry stepped in front of a receiver and weaved 54 yards into the end zone. The rookie safety broke two feeble attempts at arm tackles and avoided two more attempts before diving into the end zone for his first NFL touchdown and a 31-7 lead.

"That was awesome," he said. "The D-line got great pressure and I just came up with the ball. I think the pressure from the D-line forced the throw. Right after they got the pressure, they turned around and started blocking."

Notes: In the first quarter, Marc Mariani broke the Titans' franchise record for kickoff return yards of 1,317 set by Bobby Jancik in 1963. ... It was the seventh time this season a Chiefs opponent failed to score in the first quarter. ... Bowe and Charles are the Chiefs' third WR-RB combo to go over 1,000 yards receiving-running in a season. ... The announced crowd of 65,606 was the smallest of the year at Arrowhead. ... Thomas Jones fumbled in the fourth quarter, ending his streak of touches without a fumble at 862.

Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press

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Bears move toward No. 2 seed; Jets clinch playoff spot despite loss

CHICAGO -- Never mind the recent drama. Rex Ryan and the Jets are headed back to the playoffs, and they're not complaining even if they got in with a loss.

Jay Cutler threw three touchdown passes, Matt Forte ran for 113 yards and the Chicago Bears beat New York 38-34 on Sunday, sending the Jets to their third loss in four games. Chris Harris intercepted Mark Sanchez on a pass intended for Santonio Holmes with about a minute left to end New York's comeback bid, but the Jets' season won't be ending next week.

Jay Cutler established an impressive statistical benchmark that not a single quarterback in Chicago franchise history had reached. Find out what it was in our Milestone Tracker.

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The Jets (10-5) clinched their second straight postseason trip under Ryan when Jacksonville lost 20-17 in overtime to Washington. There was a loud roar from the coaches' locker room when the Jaguars lost, and Ryan stopped himself as he addressed the media.

"By the way, I think we're in the playoffs," he said. "Not the way I wanted it, but I'll take it."

LaDainian Tomlinson said Graham Gano's winning field goal for the Redskins was "like Christmas."

They'll have an extra night in Chicago to savor it after a snowstorm delayed their return to New York, and the Bears (11-4) might let this one soak in a bit, too.

They won for the seventh time in eight games after blowing an early 10-point lead and are in good position to lock up a bye. The Bears needed a win, coupled with a loss by Philadelphia and a loss or tie by the Giants. The Eagles won't play until Tuesday after their game against Minnesota got pushed back by snow.

Cutler completed 13 of 25 passes for 215 yards, with Johnny Knox catching four for 92 with two touchdowns, the second coming when he beat Antonio Cromartie on a 26-yarder that broke a 31-31 tie in the third quarter. He also caught a 40-yarder early in the third after a failed fake punt by New York.

"We came into it knowing we were going to have to take a few shots, go vertical on them," Cutler said. "We knew with our speed it would be hard for them to keep up."

Forte had a big game and, assuming those numbers stand, is the first opponent to run for 100 or more yards against the Jets this season. Pittsburgh's Rashard Mendenhall had a yard deducted after initially being credited with 100 last week.

Sanchez seemed to be just fine after playing most of last week's win over Pittsburgh with a shoulder injury. He threw for 269 yards and a touchdown, completing 24 of 37 passes after a sizzling start, but his interception sealed the win for Chicago and capped another wild week for New York that included more headline-grabbing distractions.

At the center of it was Ryan, who was the subject of an embarrassing foot-fetish report by Deadspin featuring videos of a woman -- who bears a close resemblance to Ryan's wife, Michelle -- displaying her toes to an off-screen cameraman who sounds a lot like the coach. Ryan had little to say about the report, repeatedly calling it "a personal matter." The week then ended on a somewhat sour note, with the Jets getting outplayed in the second half.

"To lose the game and I still make the playoffs, that's the best news you can ever have after a loss," said Sanchez, who will likely sit out next week's game against Buffalo.

Sanchez completed 13 of 15 passes for 156 yards in the first half, and the Jets led 24-17, but the momentum turned in a big way after halftime.

A fake punt by New York on the opening drive of the third quarter failed as Sanchez's pass to Brad Smith fell incomplete and things only got worse from there.

Cutler tied it on the next play when he hit Knox in the end zone with a 40-yard touchdown, and in a flash, the Bears were leading thanks to two big plays by Devin Hester.

He returned a punt 38 yards to the New York 32, putting a neat juke on James Ihedigbo as he turned up the right side that caused his leg to give way and left him with a knee injury.

Then, Hester beat Drew Coleman and caught a 25-yard TD pass from Cutler along the left side that gave the Bears a short-lived 31-24 lead.

"That was disappointing to say the least," Ryan said. "I understand you get a play or two, but we're going in there trying to kick away from that guy. We tried to do that all day and he got his hands on it and that's why you see how important it is to kick a way from that kid. He is the best returner in the game."

New York immediately tied it on a 23-yard pass from Sanchez to Holmes, but Knox put Chicago ahead for good when he beat Cromartie for that 26-yarder with about 6 minutes left in the quarter.

"We talk a lot about finishing. That's definitely what we did," coach Lovie Smith said.

As for the Jets?

"I'm a huge Redskin fan, I can tell you that right now," Ryan said.

Notes: Ryan said Ihedigbo, along with Sanchez, will likely sit out next week against Buffalo. ... S Eric Smith sat out his second straight game because of a concussion. ... The Bears had all their key players available, with LB Pisa Tinoisamoa active after missing the past three games because of a knee injury.

Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press

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