Seeking the first of at least two victories they will need to claim the AFC’s No. 1 postseason seed, the Kansas City Chiefs collected a 21-7 road victory over the Cleveland Browns on Sunday afternoon, extending their record to 13-1 with their sixth straight win over Cleveland.

First quarter

The Browns won the opening coin toss, deferring the decision to the second half. That gave initial possession to Kansas City, starting with the ball at the 30-yard line after a touchback.

The Chiefs’ offense went three and out right away, punting to the Browns quickly. However, cornerback Christian Roland-Wallace forced a fumble covering the kick. The Chiefs recovered, setting up at the Browns’ 21-yard line.

A strong run by running back Isiah Pacheco was followed by tight end Travis Kelce wide open running into the flat. That set up first and goal, then wide receiver Juju Smith-Schuster took a quick pass to the pylon to punctuate the drive. The Chiefs led 7-0 less than three minutes into the contest.

The Browns moved the chains initially, then the Chiefs’ front came through with a sack on second down. However, the play was negated by a flag on cornerback Joshua Williams. The Chiefs settled in again, this time getting the sack on third down. Defensive end George Karlaftis pursued Browns’ quarterback Jameis Winston out of the pocket, forcing a punt.

The Chiefs’ next possession started with two productive runs by running back Kareem Hunt, gaining 19 yards over the two plays. The third run was stuffed, leading to a manageable third down. On that drop back, Mahomes had time, but resorted to a covered shot downfield. The incompletion led to a punt.

The Browns found rhythm on offense, using completions to wide receiver Jerry Jeudy to move the chains three times and advance into Chiefs’ territory. From the 36-yard line, Winston looked for a big play over the top, but safety Bryan Cook was there to intercept the deep pass in the end zone. It was the Chiefs’ second takeaway of the first quarter.

The Chiefs’ offense continued tripping over itself despite the big play from the defense. A first-down pass to Kelce was too high and fell incomplete. That was followed by two runs stopped short of the sticks, leading to the Chiefs’ third punt of the game.

The Browns took over possession as the first quarter ended.

Second quarter

The Chiefs’ defensive front continued making its impact felt on the game. The unit stuffed a second down run, then Karlaftis chased down his second sack of the game on third down. That forced the Browns to punt back to Kansas City.

The two teams traded short possessions, with both defenses playing well against the run and setting up passing situations. The Chiefs finally established a longer drive on the sixth possession, using a strong run game and quick passes to avoid third down until advancing into Browns’ territory. On the third and nine, Mahomes scrambled and moved the chains with his feet.

From the Browns’ 23-yard line, Pacheco ran up the middle for eight yards, then Worthy took a quick pass and stiff armed his way to a first down. Two plays later, Mahomes found tight end Noah Gray after ample time in the pocket. The touchdown pass gave the Chiefs a 14-0 lead.

The Browns threatened to answer the Chiefs’ score after a big kick return. Cleveland moved into fourth and short from Kansas City’s 40-yard line. On the conversion attempt, Chiefs’ cornerback Nazeeh Johnson nearly intercepted the throw. That gave the ball back to the Chiefs’ offense with just over two minutes left in the half.

Wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins moved the chains with a strong catch at the sticks before the two-minute warning. Then, Mahomes dumped off to running back Samaje Perine for a big gain to put the Chiefs inside the red zone.

A quick pass to Worthy gained eight yards on first down, pushing to the Browns’ 11-yard line. However, the Cleveland defense stiffened up and forced a field goal with about 20 seconds left. The kick was missed, and the Browns kneeled into halftime with the score remaining 14-0 in the Chiefs’ favor.

Third quarter

The Browns started the second half with possession, but a quick pass went off the intended receiver’s hands and into linebacker Nick Bolton’s grasp. It was the Chiefs’ third turnover of the game.

The Chiefs took over at Cleveland’s 34-yard line, and didn’t take long to get into the end zone. After moving the chains once, Mahomes found Worthy on a quick pass to the sideline, giving him the room to sprint downfield and past the goal line for six points. The Chiefs had a 21-0 lead early in the third quarter.

After forcing a turnover on the first play of the Browns’ first drive, the Chiefs did it again on Cleveland’s second possession. Linebacker Leo Chenal punched the ball out of running back Nick Chubb’s hands, and linebacker Drue Tranquill recovered at the Browns’ 44-yard line.

The Chiefs’ offense failed to take advantage of the latest turnover, gaining no yards over three plays before punting back to the Browns.

Jeudy continued giving the Chiefs’ coverage fits on the next drive, moving the chains twice to move past midfield. A sure tackle by rookie safety Jaden Hicks on second down got the Chiefs into third down, and defensive end Charles Omenihu came from the blind side for a strip sack. The Browns recovered the fumble, but Omenihu ended the drive with his first sack of the season.

The Chiefs started backed up on this drive, and couldn’t go anywhere after gaining one first down. On third and long, Mahomes was chased down and forced to throw the ball away, leading to a punt that gave the Browns favorable field position.

Winston started the drive trying to avoid pressure from defensive tackle Chris Jones, eventually going to the ground with defensive tackle Tershawn Wharton getting to him. However, Browns’ running back Jerome Ford found space to the second level and scored on a 62-yard run. It tightened the Chiefs’ lead to 21-7.

The Chiefs went three and out on the following possession, throwing three consecutive incompletions. That gave Cleveland the ball back with a chance to tighten the margin to one score. However, the Chiefs’ defense earned another sack when Bolton and Tranquill ambushed a first down. Two plays later, the pass rush forced Winston out of the pocket and set up a punt.

The Chiefs went three and out once again, barely taking any time off the game clock with three incompletions. The punt led into the fourth quarter.

Fourth quarter

The Browns opened up the final period beating the Chiefs’ blitz, hitting a screen to Ford that gained 26 yards and put the offense 41 yards away from the end zone. However, Winston was intercepted once again two plays later; this time, cornerback Trent McDuffie brought down the pass to the end zone. It was McDuffie’s first career interception.

Looking to sustain a drive and take some clock off, the Chiefs’ offense went to work, moving the chains on an initial third down with a tight completion to Hopkins. On the next third down, Mahomes fought off pressure to find Gray back over the middle to reset the downs. That set up things at the Browns’ 46-yard line.

The Chiefs kept running into third down, and the latest attempt resulted an incompletion. The team went for it on fourth down, but a muddied pocket forced another missed throw, giving the Browns possession at their own 39-yard line.

Cleveland replaced Winston with quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson on the next possession, and he used his legs to get one first down in the short field. From there, the Chiefs’ defense controlled things and forced a punt with under six minutes left in the game.

Starting from its own 15-yard line, the Chiefs’ offense began this possession with backup quarterback Carson Wentz under center. A false start by right guard Trey Smith was a negative start, but consecutive completions to Hopkins and Worthy got things back on track and earned a fresh set of downs.

That was the last first down gained by the Chiefs, punting deep to Cleveland with less than three minutes to go. The Browns started the drive from the 12-yard line.

The Chiefs’ prevent defense allowed the Browns to chip away slowly, knowing there were no more timeouts for Cleveland with little time left. Eventually, a pass over the middle was sailed, and rookie safety Jaden Hicks intercepted it. The Chiefs’ sixth turnover of the game sealed the deal.

A few kneeldowns by Wentz led to the end, the Chiefs winning 21-7.

Injuries

Safety Chamarri Conner stayed down on the field after a play late in the first half. He was ruled out with a concussion later.

Quarterback Patrick Mahomes was tackled awkwardly on his ankle in the fourth quarter. He heavily limped off the field. He was ruled questionable to return soon after, and did not return.

Special Teams

Cornerback Christian Roland-Wallace forced a fumble covering a punt in the first quarter. The Chiefs recovered, leading to a touchdown.

Kicker Harrison Butker made all three of his point-after attempts.

Punter Matt Araiza had nine punts in the game. Two were pinned inside the 20-yard line, and one led to a fumble recovered by the Chiefs in the first quarter.

Punt returner Nikko Remigio gained 23 yards over three punt returns.

Statistics