AFC West Roundup: Week 16
As the NFL rounds the turn for the home stretch of the regular season, the Broncos are holding on to a one-game division lead heading into the final week.
After weeks of playing their best football in first halves, the Broncos found themselves in an early two-touchdown deficit, which began with this touchdown pass to A.J. Green on the Bengals' opening drive.
But the Broncos emerged from halftime with a renewed vigor. After the defense held the Bengals to a scoreless third quarter, the Broncos took their first lead of the game with a 39-yard touchdown run by C.J. Anderson following a third-quarter touchdown to Emmanuel Sanders.
After missing a game-winning field goal attempt at the end of regulation, kicker Brandon McManus redeemed himself with a go-ahead 37-yard field goal in overtime.
Because the Broncos didn't score a touchdown on their first drive of overtime, the Bengals had a last chance to tie or win the game. However, first-year quarterback AJ McCarron fumbled the snap out of the shotgun and outside linebacker DeMarcus Ware dove on the ball to give Denver the thrilling victory.
Kansas City came into this game with eight consecutive wins, and it looked like they were heading for No. 9 after an early touchdown to wide receiver Jeremy Maclin.
Cornerback Marcus Peters picked off quarterback Johnny Manziel to negate a Chiefs turnover that gave the Browns a chance to even the score in the first half.
It was a tough game for either team on offense in this low-scoring game. Manziel did all that he could with 11 rushes for 108 yards to go with his 136 passing yards, but he couldn't find the end zone, particularly in the fourth quarter when the Browns needed it most, down four points.
The Chiefs held off Cleveland on their final two drives to escape with their ninth straight win. The victory clinched a playoff berth and they're keeping the fire on the heels of the Broncos, who hold a one-game lead in the division.
The Chargers put the Raiders on their heels early with a couple early touchdowns, including this 7-yard pass to Dontrelle Inman.
In the third quarter, the Raiders continued to bite into San Diego's lead. Oakland's defense got QB Philip Rivers for a safety, and a little later, the Raiders took the lead in the fourth quarter.
After San Diego tied the game in regulation, Oakland had the first possession in overtime and a 33-yard catch by Seth Roberts led to a 31-yard field goal.Â
For safety Charles Woodson, this was his final home game of his career after he had announced this would be his final season.
