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Chiefs win fifth in a row, join playoff chase

K.C. dominates second half by smothering Bills.

The Associated Press
November 30, 2015 at 2:46AM
Buffalo Bills quarterback Tyrod Taylor (5) is slowed up by Kansas City Chiefs Jaye Howard (96) to allow Frank Zombo (51) to bring down Taylor on a two point conversion attempt in the third quarter on Nov. 29, 2015 at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Mo. The Chiefs won 30-22. (John Sleezer/Kansas City Star/TNS)
Bills quarterback Tyrod Taylor was slowed up by the Chiefs’ Jaye Howard, which enabled Frank Zombo, far left, to bring down Taylor on a two-point conversion attempt in the third quarter. (The Minnesota Star Tribune)

KANSAS CITY, MO. – The Kansas City Chiefs kept ignoring questions about the playoffs all week, even though Sunday's game against the Buffalo Bills really was a matchup of wild-card contenders.

It's going to be harder to ignore the chatter now.

Alex Smith threw for 255 yards and two touchdowns, Spencer Ware ran for 114 yards and another score, and the Chiefs beat the Bills 30-22 for their fifth consecutive victory — one that solidifies their spot in the playoff chase with five games left in the regular season.

"We're not really worried about all that," Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. "We just got over .500, think about that. All that stuff, if you keep knocking out the fundamentals and techniques, you don't worry about that other stuff."

One thing they don't have to worry about? The head-to-head tiebreaker over the Bills.

"We made it tough on ourselves," Bills quarterback Tyrod Taylor said, "but we've just got to take it week by week, day by day. Maintain a hungry attitude."

Jeremy Maclin had nine receptions for 160 yards and a touchdown for Kansas City (6-5). Travis Kelce also caught a touchdown pass, while Cairo Santos hit three field goals.

The Bills (5-6) had a chance for a tying touchdown Sunday when they took over at their own 10 with 3 minutes, 25 seconds left. But after picking up a quick first down, Taylor was knocked out of bounds short of the marker on fourth-and-9 with 2:16 left, allowing the Chiefs to put the game away.

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Taylor had 291 yards passing and three touchdowns, but he was mostly held in check in the second half. So was Sammie Watkins, who had all six catches for 158 yards and his two touchdowns over the first 30 minutes.

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DAVE SKRETTA

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