The Kansas City Chiefs (9-3) picked up another key road victory on Sunday, as they beat the Atlanta Falcons (7-5) by a score of 29-28 at the Georgia Dome.
Here are 14 quick-hitting facts following Sunday's win: 1. The "comeback kids" continue to earn that title
2. The Chiefs have been pretty good for a while
The Chiefs have won 20 of their last 24 games, which includes last year's playoffs.
Berry's five career interception returns for touchdowns are tied for the second most in team history behind Bobby Bell (6) (also: Emmitt Thomas and Jim Kearney) 4. Albert Wilson's 55-yard touchdown run on a fake punt was pretty rare
5. Travis Kelce puts together another strong performance
Kelce became the first player in the NFL this season to have three straight 100-yard performances after he had eight receptions for 140 yards on Sunday.
NFL's Leading Receivers (Weeks 11-13) | |||
Rank |
Player |
Yards |
Avg. |
1 |
Travis Kelce |
349 |
15.2 |
2 |
Julian Edelman |
261 |
10.7 |
3 |
David Johnson |
251 |
10.5 |
4 |
Golden Tate |
249 |
15.6 |
5 |
Mike Evans |
247 |
14.5 |
6. Justin Houston does what he does best
On a key play for the Chiefs defense in the first half of Sunday's game, linebacker Justin Houston sacked Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan on third down inside the red zone, which proved to be a key play as the Falcons settled for a 22-yard field goal from Matt Bryant.
7. Chiefs rank among best in NFL in key scoring category
8. Alex Smith puts together another nice performance
Smith, who finished 21 of 25 for 270 yards and a touchdown, had a passer rating of 125.0 on Sunday, which marks the 30th time in his career he's had a passer rating of at least 100.
He's 29-1 in those starts (4-0 this season). 9. Chiefs continue to lead the league in takeaways
Eric Berry's pick-six not only gave the Chiefs their sixth non-offensive touchdown this season, but it also gave them their league-leading 25th takeaway of the season.
When you add in an offense that's only turned it over 11 times this season, the plus-14 turnover differential also leads the league. The Chiefs have scored 79 points on takeaway this season, which ranks second in the NFL.10. FiveThirtyEight likes the Chiefs' chances
According to the website FiveThirtyEight.com, the Chiefs have a 98 percent chance of making the playoffs, a 61 percent chance of winning the division and a 14 percent chance of winning the Super Bowl.
The Super Bowl odds are the fourth best in the league behind the New England Patriots (22 percent), Dallas Cowboys (18 percent) and Seattle Seahawks (16 percent).
11. Chiefs offense finding success in short-yardage situations
The gutsy call from Chiefs coach Andy Reid to go for it on fourth-and-1 from the Falcons 3-yard line midway through the second quarter proved to be one of the key decisions in the game.
"I just felt like points were going to be important and not necessarily field goals when you play a team like this," Reid said of the decision after the game. "As great of a defense that we have, you have to make sure offensively you take care of business and when you're down there with an opportunity—it's hard to get there and you had better finish it."
On the play, Smith found a wide open Spencer Ware in the flat for the score after a run-fake may have gotten the linebacker in coverage to hesitate for just a half-second, which is all Ware and Smith needed.
The play tied the game 13-13.
So far this season, the Chiefs have converted 81 percent of their third-and-1 and fouth-and-1 situations, which ranks second best in the NFL.
Overall, the Chiefs have converted 81.8 percent of fourth-down conversions this season, which ranks third in the NFL, but outside of the 11-yard pass from Smith to rookie Tyreek Hill on fourth-and-10 at the end of regulation last week in the win over the Broncos, the touchdown from Smith to Ware on Sunday may have been the biggest. 12. Kickoff returns continue to yield positive results
The Chiefs are getting at least 20 yards on 71.9 percent of their kickoff returns this season, which ranks second in the NFL.
On Sunday, De'Anthony Thomas returned every kick for the Chiefs, averaging 21.7 yards per return on seven opportunities, with a long of 31 yards. 13. Red zone success proved to be a difference on Sunday
The Falcons finished Sunday's game 3 of 6 inside the red zone, while the Chiefs went 2 of 2.
It was a storyline coming into the game, as the Falcons possess one of the league's most explosive offenses, and the Chiefs defense was going to be tasked with trying to hold them to field goals, which for the most part, they did.
The Chiefs ranked fifth in the league allowing touchdowns just 48.6 percent of the time headed into Sunday's game, and they held the Falcons to two field goals and a turnover on downs in the first half.
It was a key in picking up the one-point victory.
14. Alex Smith finding success in the second half
Through 12 games this year, Smith is 139 of 198 (70.2 percent) for 1,430 yards (7.22 YPA) with six touchdowns and two interceptions in the second half of games.
The 7.22 YPA is significantly higher than the 6.57 YPA in the first half.
It's also important to note that Smith has been sacked 16 times with 173 passing attempts in the first half, while only being sacked nine times with 198 passing attempts in the second half of games.
The offensive line has been doing a good job protecting him in the second half.