The Kansas City Chiefs (11-4) picked up their 10th straight win over an AFC West opponent with an impressive 33-10 victory over the Denver Broncos (8-7) on Christmas night.
Here are 14 quick-hitting facts about the game:
- The historical significance of back-to-back 11-win seasons
With Sunday's win, the Chiefs not only further cemented their position in chasing an AFC West divisional title, they also picked up their 11th win of the season.
After finishing last season with an 11-5 record, the Chiefs have now put together back-to-back 11-win seasons for the first time in almost 50 years (1968-69).
Here's the historical connection:
In 1968, the Chiefs lost in the divisional round of the playoffs, just as the 2015 version of the Chiefs did.
In 1969, the Chiefs won the Super Bowl.
In 2016, the Chiefs…..
- Some impressive numbers coming from the Chiefs' 10-game division winning streak
During this current division winning streak, the Chiefs have almost doubled up their opponents, scoring 272 total points and allowing just 143. That's an average score of 27.2 to 14.3, which is pretty good. The defense has sacked opposing quarterbacks 32 times and they've picked off 13 passes and forced nine fumbles with eight recoveries.
The only other team in the NFL who is undefeated within their division right now is the Houston Texans (5-0).
- Pro Football Focus' top players vs. Broncos
According to PFF, the top five graded players for the Chiefs offense against the Broncos were tight end Travis Kelce (85.6), right guard Larry Duvernay-Tardif (81.8), running back Spencer Ware (79.1), right guard Zach Fulton (78.9) and right tackle Mitch Schwartz (78.6).
Defensively, the top graded players were cornerback Marcus Peters (84.1), linebacker Dee Ford (82.7), defensive lineman Chris Jones (81.4), safety Ron Parker (78.1) and cornerback Terrance Mitchell (76.1).
For a full look at the write up, click here.
- More on Kelce's big day
By now, most people know that Kelce broke a franchise record with 11 receptions for 160 yards and a touchdown on Sunday against the Broncos.
With 84 receptions for 1,117 yards and four touchdowns this season, Kelce is now just 142 yards shy of the single-season record for yards receiving by a tight end in franchise history (Tony Gonzalez, 1,258, 2004).
- Tyreek Hill moves up on all-time charts
With his 70-yard touchdown run late in the first quarter, Tyreek Hill, the rookie fifth-round pick who has already established himself as one of the league's most explosive playmakers, moved into a tie for second place on the franchise's all-time list for touchdowns by a rookie with 11.
Hill is now just one shy of tying Abner Haynes for most in franchise history (12, 1960).
- Alex Smith got back to running the ball
It's been one of the more talked about points regarding Smith's 2016 season—the fact that he hasn't had the rushing numbers that we've come to expect from the athletic signal caller.
With a 10-yard rushing touchdown early in Sunday's game, Smith became the franchise's all-time leader in yards rushing by a quarterback.
Smith finished with a season-high 46 yards rushing on Sunday, and he now has 1,296 in his career, which moved him past Chiefs legend and Pro Football Hall of Famer Len Dawson (1,253, 1962-75).
- All the gloriousness of the "Bloated Tebow Pass"
Two days after the game, Dontari Poe's name is still trending on twitter because of his jump-pass touchdown at the end of the game against the Broncos.
Here is some of the best of the internet regarding Poe's play:
- Terrance Mitchell continues to play well
According to the folks over at PFF, the No. 3-ranked cornerback in the NFL over the past three weeks is the Chiefs' Terrance Mitchell, who has been targeted 24 times over that time and allowed just nine catches for 77 yards.
Mitchell, who is on his fourth team since 2014 and initially signed with the Chiefs practice squad on Sept. 6, has been a surprise standout for the defense recently.
Mitchell was signed to the active roster on two separate occasions this season, but most recently on November 25.
- Daniel Sorensen has quietly been a key playmaker for the defense
The former undrafted free agent out of BYU in 2014 has been a key piece of the Chiefs defense this year, and has found a knack for making game-changing plays.
- Right tackle Mitch Schwartz holds his own against Von Miller in Round 2
Last Sunday, the Chiefs' starting right tackle, Mitch Schwartz, showed everyone why he was such a coveted free agent this past offseason and why it's another feather in the cap of general manager John Dorsey for signing him.
Schwartz held one of the NFL's best pass rushers, the Broncos' Von Miller, to one quarterback hit and not a single pressure allowed. That's the first time all season Miller had been held without a pressure, according to PFF.
"It was definitely better than last time," Schwartz said after the game of his performance. "Last time I had a pretty poor game, so I wanted to come out, make up for that and help the team in a positive way and I think I accomplished that.
"[Von Miller] is still going to make his plays every now again, but I definitely played better than the last time out."
Schwartz's brother, former Chiefs offensive lineman Geoff Schwartz, was proud.
- The Chiefs lead the league with 31 takeaways this season
The Chiefs have the third-most interceptions in the NFL this season with 16, and they lead the league with 15 fumble recoveries.
Marcus Peters (5) and Eric Berry (4) lead the way when it comes to interceptions, and both Peters and Sorensen have three fumble recoveries this season, which ties for the team lead.
- Chiefs defense ranks among the best in the most important category
While "points allowed" is a stat often and for good reason normally attributed to the success (or failure) of a defense, the fact is there are some other factors that help add to that number, namely special teams and giveaways by an offense.
If teams have to travel further to score points on your defense, there's a better chance you have at not having given up a lot of points.
That said, there's a correlation between not giving up many points and finding success, that's an obvious stat, but it's interesting that the top five teams in the NFL in fewest points allowed have all clinched playoff spots before Week 17.
The Chiefs rank No. 5 in the league by allowing 18.9 points per game, and they're joined by the Dallas Cowboys (No. 4, 18.6), New York Giants (No. 3, 18.3), Seattle Seahawks (No. 2, 17.9) and New England Patriots (No. 1, 15.7).
- "This might just be the best team Andy Reid has ever coached"
The latest Power Rankings are out and the Chiefs have an average position of 3.75.
ESPN and Bleacher Report both have the Chiefs at No. 3.
For the full write-up of power rankings, click here.
- FiveThirtyEight has the Chiefs with the fourth-best odds to win the Super Bowl
According to the latest from the folks over at FiveThirtyEight, the Chiefs have a 40 percent chance of winning the division and getting a first-round bye, and an 11 percent chance of winning the Super Bowl.
The only teams with a better shot at winning it all according to them are the New England Patriots (29 percent), Dallas Cowboys (19 percent) and Atlanta Falcons (12 percent).
In order for the Chiefs to win the division, the Oakland Raiders would need to lose to the Denver Broncos, and the Chiefs would have to beat the Chargers on Sunday.
Postgame facts and stats from the Chiefs Week 16 win over the Broncos