The Kansas City Chiefs have successfully defended their division title. The Chiefs clinched the AFC West crown Sunday with a 29-13 victory over the Miami Dolphins. The Chiefs' division-clinching win also made franchise history. This marked the first time the squad won back-to-back division titles.
Here's what else we learned:
- The Chiefs continued their momentum from Week 15 into Week 16. Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith impressed early, consistently marching the Chiefs down field and completing tight throws to covered targets, including a 52-yard reception to wide receiver Tyreek Hill and a 9-yard pass to tight end Travis Kelce. Smith ended the day connecting on 25 of 39 passes for 304 yards. The performance elevated the quarterback to 4,000 yards passing this season -- a first for the signal-caller.
- Like Smith, cornerback Marcus Peters was trouble for the Dolphins' offense. Peters forced turnovers, including a Jarvis Landry fumble that put the Chiefs on the board early in the first quarter. Though the Chiefs survived without Peters during his one-game suspension, the past two weeks proved the tenacious Chiefs' defense is better with Peters in the lineup.
- The cold and stifling Chiefs defense proved to be too much for Miami. The Dolphins struggled to hold on to the ball and fumbled three times (Cutler recovering one), something that has plagued the Dolphins' offense this year. Miami was equally as unimpressive on the ground totaling a mere 59 rushing yards, and was unable to convert consistently on third downs.
