Sunday 17 December 2017 12:15, UK
Alex Smith threw for 231 yards and two touchdowns and Kareem Hunt ran for 155 yards and a score as the Kansas City Chiefs routed the Los Angeles Chargers 30-13 to seize control of the AFC West.
Hunt also had a touchdown reception for the Chiefs (8-6), whose eighth straight win over the Chargers all but sewed up the division and a spot in the playoffs. The only way Kansas City can lose it now is by being beaten in both of their last two games and the Chargers or Oakland Raiders winning out.
The Chargers had led 13-10 early in the second half, but quarterback Philip Rivers threw three costly interceptions on the night, two of them to Marcus Peters, while Austin Ekeler also coughed up a fumble down the stretch.
Rivers finished with 221 yards passing and a touchdown, but has thrown 13 interceptions during the Chargers' losing streak to the Chiefs.
Defeat for the Chargers (7-7) ends their four-game win streak and quite possibly their playoff hopes, with a Wild Card spot now looking their most likely route in.
The game had shaped up as a match-up of teams going in opposite directions - the Chiefs were 5-0 to start the season before watching their division lead waste away, while the Chargers started out 0-4 but won seven of their next nine.
The Chiefs built a 10-6 half-time lead, only to see Los Angeles go ahead early in the second half with a 10-yard TD connection between Rivers and veteran tight end Antonio Gates.
It was a lead that didn't last long. The Chiefs answered with a methodical, 69-yard scoring drive of their own, with Hunt catching Smith's short three-yard toss for the go-ahead TD.
Two plays later, Rivers floated a pass downfield and Peters leapt up to make an easy interception, with his long return setting up first-and-goal at the Chargers six-yard line. The Chiefs failed to find the endzone, but a Harrison Butker field goal extended their lead.
The Chargers offense then coughed up the ball again three plays later, with the excellent Peters helping to pry it loose from Ekeler. Butker tacked on another field goal.
Rivers threw two more picks in the fourth quarter, giving him six in two games against Kansas City this season, and Hunt ran in for a five-yard score, ending any hopes of Los Angeles mounting a comeback.
