Kansas City Chiefs dominate Oakland Raiders to claim AFC West title

The Kansas City Chiefs have won the AFC West for the third straight year; claim the top seed in the AFC for the first time since 1997.

The Kansas City Chiefs hosted the rival Oakland Raiders on Sunday, and with the AFC on the line, the fans and team showed up for an important 35-3 victory at Arrowhead Stadium.

The Chiefs lose the coin toss and started with the ball on offense. They started with fireworks. On a huge third-and-five, Patrick Mahomes dropped back and uncorked a long touchdown strike to Tyreek Hill that hit him in stride on his way to the end zone on a 67-yard pass. giving the Chiefs the early 7-0 lead. On that pass, Hill set a new franchise record for receiving yards in a single season.

On the Chiefs first defensive possession, they created a turnover when Allen Bailey stripped Derek Carr and the team recovered the fumble. The Chiefs were not able to capitalize on the defensive turnover, however, as the offense swiftly went three and out.

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Despite their defensive issues all year, the unit came out swinging in Week 17 as their second series of work ended with a Daniel Sorensen pick-six giving the Chiefs a 14-0 lead. That was the first pick-six for the Chiefs since Week 7 against the Bengals. Justin Houston forced a strip sack of Derek Carr on the next series to make it three straight turnovers for the Raiders.

On the following drive, the Chiefs put six more points on the board when Damien Williams barreled his way into the end zone from four yards out. That capped off a nine play 60-yard drive.

The Raiders turned it over for the fourth time as Reggie Ragland picked off Carr and took it all the way down the field to the four-yard line. Despite the great field possession, the Chiefs came away empty-handed on that drive by failing to capitalize on a short fourth-and-goal. To close out the half, with a minute left, the Raiders got their first points put on the board by way of a 50-yard Daniel Carlson field goal, making it 21-3 heading into the break.

Mahomes finally crossed the 50 touchdown barrier (and went over 5,000 yards at the same time) with his 89-yard pass to DeMarcus Robinson, which gave the Chiefs a commanding 28-3 lead. Tyreek Hill ran an end around into the end zone to extend the Chiefs lead to 35-3 following the point after attempt.

With the win, the Chiefs have won the AFC West for the third straight year, the first time this franchise has been able to accomplish that feat. They also earned the top seed in the AFC and will not only have a bye week but also have home-field advantage throughout the postseason.