On their way to a Super Bowl appearance last season, the Kansas City Chiefs could do no wrong in close games, posting an 12-0 record in games decided by one score or less.
Yet the Chiefs entered Week 12 of this season just 5-5 and facing the possibility of having a losing record through 11 games for the first time since 2012 because they were no longer the league's best team in the clutch — 0-5 in one-score games.
That changed, finally, Sunday against Indianapolis. Trailing by as many as 11 points with a minute left in the third quarter, the Chiefs scored the final 14 points to beat the Colts in overtime, 23-20.
The win gives Kansas City (6-5) a 59% chance to make the postseason; a loss would have dropped that likelihood to 31%, according to NFL statistics.
"This is exactly what we needed," Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes said. "Everybody made plays when we needed it."
The narrow win wouldn't have happened without a defensive turnaround. After having allowed the Colts (8-3) to score four times on their first six drives, the Chiefs held them scoreless on their final four possessions, all four of which ended in three-and-outs and produced just 13 yards combined.
The circumstances suggested the defensive stand was unlikely. Kansas City ranked eighth-best this season in defensive points added and sixth-best in EPA allowed on dropbacks in the fourth quarter and overtime, but Indianapolis posed perhaps its most difficult offensive challenge of the season, having led the NFL in yards per game. Colts running back Jonathan Taylor entered the game leading the NFL in rushing yards, touchdown runs and total touchdowns.
But Taylor finished with a season-low 66 yards from scrimmage. And Indianapolis went nowhere over the fourth quarter and overtime even though it wasn't affected by the issues that had cooled its hot start. Quarterback Daniel Jones committed three turnovers and was sacked nine times in his first eight games, but in his last three games had seven turnovers and 12 sacks. The Chiefs didn't get a single turnover or sack but still held the Colts to 11 points lower than their NFL-leading season average.
Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo "had a great plan defensively against one of the best offenses in the National Football League," Chiefs coach Andy Reid said.
Kansas City has made the playoffs 10 consecutive seasons, the second-longest streak in NFL history. Continuing it was in jeopardy with four minutes left in the fourth quarter when Kansas City got the ball back backed up only 2 yards from its own end zone. When quarterback Patrick Mahomes found Rashee Rice for a 47-yard gain, it increased the Chiefs' probability of winning by more than 20 percentage points, per the NFL.
"You could feel the energy of the defense, of the stadium, and it was kind of that 'we're not going to lose this game,'" Mahomes said. "We're going to find a way to win. Even though not everything has gone our way to this moment, we're going to find a way."
