There is only one team that has won 16 regular season games. It was the 2007 New England Patriots.
If the Kansas City Chiefs match the 2007 Patriots, it won’t carry the same weight. They play 17 games, not the 16 that was the NFL standard for years. But they could be on their way to a 16-1 record.
So much attention has been paid to how the Chiefs win that winning almost every week has been overshadowed. The Chiefs improved to 14-1 on the season and are poised to secure the AFC’s No. 1 seed after a 27-19 victory over the Houston Texans on Saturday. It was the Chiefs’ 16th consecutive victory in single-score games, extending their NFL record streak. It wasn’t a particularly dominant performance but the result was familiar.
The Chiefs won in strange and sometimes unbelievable ways. They’ve rarely blown anyone out this season. But they keep winning and could end up with as many regular season wins as any team in NFL history.
The Chiefs play another close game
Since the Chiefs were playing, it was no surprise that it was a close game.
Kansas City struck first. Patrick Mahomes suffered what was described as a mild ankle sprain last week, and there was brief concern about his availability for this weekend’s game, but Mahomes played and had some nice early shopping. His 15-yard touchdown run opened the scoring.
The Texans fought back. Quarterback CJ Stroud threw a nice touchdown pass across his body to tight end Dalton Schultz. He also threw a 30-yard touchdown pass to Tank Dell, but it cost him. Houston receiver Jared Wayne dove for the deep pass and inadvertently dove into Dell’s knee. It was immediately clear that Dell had suffered a serious injury. He was taken away as his teammates were emotional. Stroud was in tears and had to be consoled by his teammates.
This injury seemed to naturally affect the Texans. They missed the extra point right after Dell’s touchdown. The Chiefs stepped up their defense, with Xavier Worthy catching a touchdown pass to extend Kansas City’s lead to 24-16.
The Chiefs are hard enough to beat in ideal conditions. The Texans, who were missing one of their top receivers and worried about him as he left the field on a cart, didn’t help. Houston did not score a touchdown after Dell’s injury.
Chiefs claim another victory
Obviously, the Chiefs have an advantage in close games. Saturday’s second half was like many other Kansas City games.
In the fourth quarter, the Chiefs went on a 14-play drive that fell behind 6:33. It ended in a field goal, but that kept the pressure on the Texans to be perfect.
Houston couldn’t put together a long drive of its own after that. Trailing 27-19, Stroud was sacked on third down and the Texans punted. Mahomes hit Samaje Perine for a big conversion on third-and-4 to buy more time. Kareem Hunt scored a first down after the two-minute warning to seal it.
The Chiefs have an 89 percent chance of securing the No. 1 seed after the win, NBC said on its broadcast. They will clinch first place with a victory against the Steelers on Christmas Day next week. A 15-1 Chiefs team would have nothing to play for in Week 18 and could sit some players. But a 15-2 regular season, after two straight Super Bowls, would be remarkable.
As time goes by, how the Chiefs racked up all those wins will be forgotten. They will just be seen as another dominant Chiefs team that may be on their way to a historic championship.
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