KANSAS CITY, Mo. — All season, the prolific Kansas City offense had been putting the Chiefs in position to capture the No. 1 seed in the playoffs.

It took their defense — and some good fortune — to finally clinch it.

Patrick Mahomes threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Demarcus Robinson with just under two minutes to go Sunday, then watched his defense force Younghoe Koo’s 39-yard field-goal try to tie the game. And when the Pro Bowl kicker faded it right with 9 seconds remaining, the Chiefs had escaped, 17-14.

Not to mention the Chiefs got their club-record 10th straight win and and the AFC’s lone first-round playoff bye.

“The defense played their tail off to give us a chance,” Mahomes said later, “and the offense found a way to score when we needed to. That’s just the championship swagger to know how to win a game even when you don’t play well.”

Mahomes finished with 278 yards passing and two touchdowns along with an interception for the reigning Super Bowl champions, who won their league-record seventh straight one-possession game. Travis Kelce had seven catches for 98 yards and a score, giving him 1,426 yards for the season, breaking George Kittle’s record for an NFL tight end.

“The real record I’m proud of,” Kelce said, “is this is the first time the Chiefs have ever been 14-1.”

The Falcons (4-11) certainly made it tougher than most people expected. They took the lead when Matt Ryan hit Laquon Treadwell for a 5-yard touchdown with 4:33 to go, then answered Mahomes’ touchdown pass to Robinson by marching right down field again. But after forcing Ryan into throwing three straight incompletions, they watched Koo head onto the field — and promptly miss for only the time this season.

Instead of heading to overtime, the Falcons headed home with their seventh loss in a one-possession game.

“I told him afterwards, ‘The next time you’re in that situation, you’re going to nail it,’ and to not doubt that for a second,” Ryan said. “It’s part of the game and you have to move forward.”

Calvin Ridley had five catches for 130 years for the Falcons. Hayden Hurst added five catches for 47 yards and a score.

“They put up a great effort,” Falcons interim coach Raheem Morris said, “but we didn’t come here to get a pat on the back by anybody. We came here to win the football game. That’s the only goal you have when you come to play these games.”

Both defense played well in a first half that ended 7-7.

The Falcons’ Keanu Neal picked off a pass from Sammy Watkins when the Chiefs tried an audacious fourth-down play, using the wide receiver on a reverse to throw a pass to Mahomes across the field. The pick gave Atlanta the ball at its own 2-yard line, and Ryan found Hurst 98 yards later to give the Falcons the early lead.

The Chiefs’ offense finally got on track in the closing minutes of the first half. They never faced third down in going 78 yards for a tying score. Mahomes zipped a short TD pass to Kelce, who earlier became the first tight end in NFL history and first player in Chiefs history with multiple 100-catch seasons when he hauled in his second pass of the game.

The stunning display of defense continued for both teams in the second half.

Falcons linebacker Foyesade Oluokun kept the game scoreless when he deftly stepped in front of Kelce at the goal line for an interception. The Chiefs answered by allowing 15 yards and forcing back-to-back punts in the third quarter.

Kansas City finally took its first lead on Harrison Butker’s 53-yard field goal with 14:08 left in the game.

The Falcons squandered their first chance to match the points when Brandon Powell coughed up the ball deep in Kansas City territory. But they made their second opportunity count on Ryan’s 5-yard flick to Treadwell that capped an eight-play, 75-yard touchdown drive late in the fourth quarter.

Like so many times this season, the Falcons let it slip away.

“I’m proud of the guys — 14-1 is nothing to shake your head at,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “When it’s all said and done, you have a bye coming up after your next game. There’s only two teams that will have that this year.”

Bears 41, Jaguars 17

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Jacksonville Jaguars took care of business against Chicago on Sunday, losing their 14th consecutive game and moving a step closer to locking up the No. 1 pick in the 2021 draft.

Hello, Trevor Lawrence?

Mitchell Trubisky accounted for three scores, including two touchdown passes to Jimmy Graham, and the Bears pounded the Jaguars 41-17 in a game that meant as much to Jacksonville’s long-term future as it did to Chicago’s short-term fate.

The Bears (8-7), who gained control of their postseason path when Arizona lost to San Francisco on Saturday, can make the NFC playoffs for the second time in three years by beating Green Bay next week at home.

The Jaguars (1-14), who set a franchise record for consecutive losses, can secure the top pick for the first time in franchise history by losing at Indianapolis next week.

Jacksonville’s latest loss was over long before the clock ran out. Chicago scored 28 unanswered points to start the second half, getting so far in front that Nick Foles got to close out the game against his former team.

Trubisky completed 24 of 35 passes for 265 yards, with two touchdowns and an interception. He also ran for a score. Trubisky’s performance was far from perfect. His interception came in the end zone late in the first half — he inexplicably scrambled and threw into a crowd — with the Bears in field-goal range, and he nearly had another early in the third.

But safety Jarrod Wilson dropped the ball and then dropped to the ground to do 10 pushups.

Allen Robinson finished with 10 catches for 103 yards against his former team. Robinson spent the first four years of his NFL career with the Jaguars.

Graham had four receptions for 69 yards.

Former Bears quarterback Mike Glennon made his fourth start of the season for Jacksonville and had two touchdown passes and two interceptions. Glennon nearly had a third turnover, but nose tackle Bilal Nichols dropped a ball at the line of scrimmage that hit him in the chest.

David Montgomery and rookie Artavis Pierce each scored on the ground.

Chicago scored 30 or more points for the fourth consecutive week, the first time the Bears have accomplished the feat since 1965.

Panthers 20, Washington 13

LANDOVER, Md. — Dwayne Haskins turned the ball over three times before getting benched, Steven Sims muffed a punt return that turned into a Panthers touchdown and Washington blew its first chance to clinch the NFC East by losing to Carolina 20-13 on Sunday.

Haskins was 14 of 28 with a fumble and two interceptions after starting in place of injured veteran Alex Smith, despite violating covid-19 protocols last week. After being stripped of his captaincy and fined $40,000 for partying without a mask, he was stripped of the ball by Marquis Haynes in the first quarter and picked off by Tahir Whitehead and Tre Boston in the second.

Meanwhile, Washington’s defense allowed two Panthers touchdown drives and 202 yards in the first half alone. Had there been fans at FedEx Field, they would have booed Washington off the field at halftime.

Down 14 early in the fourth quarter, coach Ron Rivera pulled Haskins and handed the ball to Taylor Heinicke for his first NFL action since 2018 with Carolina. Heinicke was 12 of 19 for 137 yards in relief and threw a 29-yard TD pass to J.D. McKissic with 1:50 left.

With Rivera looking to get into the playoffs by beating his former team, the scene was instead eerily reminiscent of four years ago when Jay Gruden-coached Washington lost a potential win-and-in Week 17 matchup against the Giants, who like Carolina had nothing to play for.

New York’s loss earlier Sunday at Baltimore put the NFC East squarely in focus for Washington (6-9), which now must beat Jalen Hurts and the Eagles next week to wrap up the NFL’s weakest division.

Carolina (5-10) snapped a three-game skid behind 197 yards passing from Teddy Bridgewater and an opportunistic performance on defense and special teams. With Christian McCaffrey out again, Curtis Samuel had five catches for 106 yards and was the Panthers’ leading rusher with 52 yards on seven carries.

Chargers 19, Broncos 16

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Justin Herbert set the rookie record for most touchdown passes in a season and the Los Angeles Chargers defeated the Denver Broncos 19-16 on Sunday for their third straight win.

Michael Badgley tied a career high with four field goals, including the winning kick with 41 seconds remaining.

Herbert’s 9-yard screen pass to Austin Ekeler in the second quarter was his 28th touchdown throw of the season, surpassing the 27 that Baker Mayfield had for Cleveland in 2018.

Herbert, the sixth overall pick in the April draft and third QB taken, completed 21 of 33 passes for 253 yards. He also became the fourth player to throw for over 4,000 yards as a rookie, joining Andrew Luck, Cam Newton and Jameis Winston.

Badgley came into the game making three of his last seven on field goals, but was perfect on all four of his attempts Sunday. After Brandon McManus tied it at 16 with 2:47 remaining with a 52-yard field goal, the Chargers (6-9) drove to the Broncos 19, and the third-year kicker won it from 37 yards.

Badgley also was good from 37 yards to cap the opening drive. Nasir Adderley put Los Angeles in great field position by returning the opening kickoff 53 yards. Badgley also split the uprights from 43 yards late in the second quarter to extend LA’s lead to 13-0 at halftime. He added a 25-yarder 10 seconds into the fourth quarter to make it 16-3.

Denver (5-10) tied it with scores on three straight possessions.

McManus was good from 50 yards to bring the Broncos within 10. After the Chargers went three-and-out, Drew Lock scored on a 1-yard keeper for Denver’s first rushing touchdown in seven games.

And after Badgley’s late field goal, the Broncos got to midfield. But Lock’s desperation pass on the final play was intercepted by Mike Williams near the goal line.

Lock completed 24 of 47 passes for 264 yards. Melvin Gordon, who spent five seasons with the Chargers before signing with Denver in the offseason, had 79 yards rushing on 16 carries.

Denver had opportunities to score on its first two drives but came away empty. The Broncos took nearly eight minutes on their first possession and drove to the Chargers 16 before Lock was intercepted by Casey Hayward Jr. in the end zone. The ball deflected off the hands of Denver receiver DaeSean Hamilton.

McManus then had a 37-yard field goal attempt bounce off the left upright, his first miss inside 40 yards since 2017.

Cowboys 37, Eagles 17

ARLINGTON, Texas — Andy Dalton threw for 377 yards and three touchdowns, two to Michael Gallup, and the Dallas Cowboys stayed alive in the playoff race with a 37-17 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday.

The Cowboys (6-9) won their third consecutive game and still have a chance to win the NFC East thanks to Washington’s 20-13 loss to Carolina, which guaranteed that the NFL’s worst division won’t have a team with a winning record.

Dallas can overtake Washington (6-9) with a win at the New York Giants and a Washington loss to the Eagles on the final weekend of the regular season. The Giants (5-10) can get in by beating the Cowboys if Washington loses.

The Eagles (4-10-1) led 14-3 in the first quarter after DeSean Jackson’s 81-yard touchdown catch in his first game in two months coming off an ankle injury, and they would have controlled their playoff fate against Washington with a win.

Instead, Philadelphia and Jalen Hurts couldn’t keep the offense rolling while giving up points on five consecutive Dallas possessions. The defending NFC East champion was eliminated from the postseason with its sixth loss in seven games.

The top three Dallas receivers each had a catch of at least 50 yards. Rookie CeeDee Lamb’s 52-yard touchdown put the Cowboys up 27-17 early in the third quarter, Gallup’s 55-yarder on a screen set up a field goal between his two TDs, and Amari Cooper had a 69-yard catch before another of Greg Zuerlein’s three field goals.

Dalton, who was 22 of 30 while surpassing 300 yards for the first time since replacing the injured Dak Prescott five weeks into the season, gave the Eagles life late in the third quarter by forcing a deep throw to Lamb that Darius Slay intercepted.

But that opportunity fizzled when coach Doug Pederson elected to go for it on fourth-and-15 from the Dallas 33 early in the fourth quarter and Zach Ertz was stopped well short on an underneath throw.

Hurts had two turnovers with Philadelphia in scoring range later in the fourth quarter. Anthony Brown intercepted the rookie at the goal line, and Hurts fumbled at the end of a run on a close call that was held up on review. Hurts had a second interception with the game well out of reach in the final minute.

Making his third start since the benching of Carson Wentz, Hurts led an offense that generated 285 yards in the first half before stalling while the Cowboys surged to the lead.

Hurts was 21 of 39 for 342 yards with 69 yards rushing, joining Lamar Jackson as the only QBs in the past 70 years with at least 50 yards rushing in each of his first three starts.

Cooper and Gallup had 121 yards receiving apiece, and Lamb helped finish off the Eagles by drawing a 34-yard pass interference penalty on third down to set up his 19-yard scoring run in the final two minutes.

Seahawks 20, Rams 9

SEATTLE — The Seattle Seahawks claimed the NFC West title with a 20-9 win over the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday, with Russell Wilson throwing a 13-yard TD pass to Jacob Hollister with 2:51 left for the clinching score.

Seattle (11-4) earned its first division title since 2016 and its fifth since Pete Carroll arrived in 2010 behind a stellar defensive effort and a clutch late drive engineered by Wilson.

Seattle’s quarterback scored on a 4-yard run on the opening drive of the second half for a 13-6 lead. But the final drive was Wilson at his best: Wilson was 5 for 5 for 59 yards on the drive, hitting four different receivers.

Wilson connecting with Hollister was a bit of redemption for the tight end who was stopped inches short of the same end zone on the final play a year ago in Week 17 against San Francisco. That gave the division title to the 49ers.

Wilson finished 20 of 32 for 225 yards. But unlike earlier in the season when it was Wilson that staked Seattle to a 5-0 start, this victory was carried by the defense. Seattle flustered Jared Goff, shut down the Rams’ run game, and held Los Angeles (9-6) to a season low in points.

The Rams became the fifth straight opponent held under 20 points by Seattle, something accomplished only four other times in franchise history and not since 2014 — the last time the Seahawks reached the Super Bowl.

Goff was 23 of 42 for 224 yards and a baffling first-half interception that cost Los Angeles points. Darrell Henderson Jr. rushed for 62 yards before leaving in the third quarter with an ankle injury.

The Rams can still reach the playoffs with a win over Arizona in Week 17, but the past two weeks have changed the tenor of their season. Last week’s shocking loss to the then-winless New York Jets cost the Rams control of the division. Now, Los Angeles risks missing the playoffs entirely if it loses to the Cardinals and Chicago beats Green Bay next Sunday.

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