KANSAS CITY, Mo. _ It wasn't that long ago that many were wondering about the direction of the Chiefs.
Just three weeks ago, they'd lost six of their previous seven games. The offensive line was leaky at best (particularly in the running game) and the quarterback wasn't covering for their mistakes. On defense, the front seven struggled to stop the run and the secondary wasn't making game-changing plays.
But on Sunday afternoon, none of that was on the mind of the faithful fans among the announced crowd of 65,325 who braved 20-degree weather at kickoff to witness history at Arrowhead Stadium.
For their patience, they got to watch their favorite football team complete a late-season turnaround courtesy of a 29-13 Chiefs victory over the Miami Dolphins that clinched a franchise first: the club's second straight AFC West title.
During the course of the contest, the Chiefs showed some legitimately positive signs on the way to winning their third straight game and improving to 9-6.
_Quarterback Alex Smith made a number of big plays, including some gorgeous throws to acrobatic receiver Tyreek Hill on the way to 25-for-39, 304-yard day.
_The offensive line asserted its will _ enough, at least _ against a front that included one of the game's nastiest linemen, Ndamukong Suh. Running back Kareem Hunt clawed for 91 yards and a touchdown on 29 carries.
_The defense held the Dolphins' running game and breakout star back Kenyan Drake to 59 yards on 16 carries.
_And while Dolphins quarterback Jay Cutler threw for 286 yards and a touchdown, cornerback Marcus Peters forced two crucial fumbles that were recovered by the Chiefs and swung momentum at various points of the game.
It didn't take long for evidence of the last point to come to fruition, as the ball started bouncing the Chiefs' way early. Literally.
On the Dolphins' first drive, inside linebacker Derrick Johnson delivered a blow to receiver Jarvis Landry that caused the ball to pop out. Peters, who was standing a few feet away, let the ball fall right into his arms near the sideline to give the Chiefs possession.
The Chiefs only got a field goal out of that, but it set the tone for the day. The Dolphins, who fell to 6-9, responded with a field goal, but the Chiefs capitalized on their next drive, which included a gorgeous 52-yard deep ball from Smith to Hill and four third-down conversions _ the last of which resulted in a 9-yard touchdown strike from Smith to tight end Travis Kelce that gave the Chiefs 10-3 lead.
The Dolphins responded with another field goal, but the Chiefs rode Hunt to another scoring drive. Hunt carried the ball seven times for 58 yards on a nine-play, 68-yard drive that was capped with a 1-yard run by Hunt that put the Chiefs ahead 17-6 midway through the second quarter.
At that point, it appeared the Chiefs might be on their way to an easy victory. But poor tackling came back to bite them as Dolphins receiver Jakeem Grant _ a 4.3 speedster who is listed at 5 feet 7 and 168 pounds _ broke at least three tackles on a 65-yard catch-and-run.
The Chiefs still led 17-13, however, and the offense didn't let the Dolphins build on the momentum from that score. After the teams exchanged punts, a defensive holding penalty on the Dolphins extended the Chiefs' final drive in the half. And after an impressive 33-yard strike from Smith to Hill, who tracked the ball near the sideline and hauled it in, kicker Harrison Butker _ who finished with five field goals Sunday _ made his second field goal to give the Chiefs a 20-13 halftime advantage.
From there, the Chiefs' defense pitched a shutout. Dolphins kicker Cody Parkey missed a field goal, and the Chiefs' offense got the ball in range for Butker, who drilled three more field goals in the second half to not only surpass Nick Lowery for the most single-season field goals in team history (36), but solidify a history-making victory.
The win assures the Chiefs their fourth playoff appearance in coach Andy Reid's five-year tenure with the team, regardless of what happens in their regular-season finale against the Broncos in Denver next week.
In the past, Reid has opted to rest most of his starters in the season finale in similar situations.
And given the way the team has bounced back from a miserable two-month stretch, one could argue this year's players have earned the same treatment.
