LAS VEGAS — The Kansas City Chiefs dismantled the Las Vegas Raiders 31-13 on Saturday to earn the top seed in the AFC and a first-round bye.
Kansas City has played in four consecutive AFC Championship Games and became the AFC's No. 1 seed for the third time in five years.
Patrick Mahomes quickly took the Chiefs down the field on their opening drive, connecting with Jerick McKinnon for a two-yard scoring pass to give Kansas City a 7-0 lead.
Despite being Mahomes' only score of the day, he finished 18-of-26 for 202 yards through the air and ran for 29.
Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones finished the regular season on a high note, sacking Raiders quarterback Jarrett Stidham 2.5 times to give him 15.5 for the season.
As a team, Kansas City recorded 6 sacks in the game.
Isiah Pacheco, Ronald Jones, and Kadarius Toney each recorded a rushing score as the Chiefs finished with 168 yards on the ground for the game.
The Chiefs outscored the Raiders 17-0 in the second quarter to build up a 24-3 lead.
The No. 1-seeded Chiefs (14-3) will have home-field advantage throughout the playoffs, but it's not guaranteed for the AFC Championship Game if they advance that far. On Friday, the NFL changed some of its playoff seeding rules in the wake of the cancelation of last weeks' Monday Night game between the Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals.
There are circumstances that might force the game to be played at a neutral site. However, if the Bills are to lose on Sunday, the game will be played in Kansas City if they advance to the championship game.
Kansas City 7 17 0 7 = 31
Las Vegas 3 0 3 7 = 13
First Quarter KC—Jerick McKinnon 2 pass from Patrick Mahomes (Harrison Butker kick), 12:52 LV—Daniel Carlson 54 field goal, 7:15. Second Quarter KC—Ronald Jones 2 run (Harrison Butker kick), 14:56. KC—Kadarius Toney 11 run (Harrison Butker kick), 0:47. KC—Harrison Butker 44 field goal, 0:00. Third Quarter LV—Daniel Carlson 38 field goal, 6:55. Fourth Quarter KC—Isiah Pacheco 1 run (Harrison Butker kick), 11:03 LV—Hunter Renfrow 11 pass from Jarrett Stidham (Daniel Carlson Kick), 6:37.
Jacksonville 20, Tennessee 16
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A fumble return for touchdown by Josh Allen capped off a fourth quarter comeback as the Jacksonville Jaguars beat the Tennessee Titans 20-16 on Saturday night to win the AFC South and return to the playoffs for the first time since 2017.
The Jaguars, who finished 3-14 last year and last in the AFC South, became the fifth team since the 1970 merger to have the league's worst record the previous season and win their division the following season.
Tennessee lead for nearly the entire game until a blitzing Rayshawn Jenkins sacked Josh Dobbs and caused a fumble. Linebacker Josh Allen scooped up the loose porkskin and returned it 37 yards for the go-ahead touchdown with 2:51 to play.
The Titans (7-10) got the ball back and drove to near midfield, but Dobbs' fourth down pass to Hassan Haskins came up four yards short of the first down and the Jaguars ran out the clock to seal the victory.
Trevor Lawrence finished 20 of 32 for 212 yards passing and one score.
Tennessee's Derrick Henry carried the ball 30 times for 109 yards, out-gaining the Jaguars who ran for just 19 yards in the game.
The win was Jacksonville's fifth in a row and finished the season 7-2 after losing five straight.
Jacksonville (9-8) will be the No. 4 seed in the AFC and host a playoff game against the No. 5 seed next weekend.
Tennessee 3 10 3 0 = 16
Jacksonville 0 7 3 10 = 20
First Quarter TEN—Randy Bullock 51 field goal, 1:23. Second Quarter TEN—Chigoziem Okonkwo 21 pass from Joshua Dobbs (Randy Bullock kick), 5:32 JAX—Christian Kirk 25 pass from Trevor Lawrence (Riley Patterson kick). 2:36. TEN—Randy Bullock 39 field goal, 0:00. Third Quarter JAX—Riley Patterson 26 field goal, 10:09. TEN—Randy Bullock 41 field goal, 6:02. Fourth Quarter JAX—Riley Patterson 36 field goal, 14:49. JAX—Josh Allen 37 fumble return (Riley Patterson kick), 2:51.
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