Kansas City Chiefs clinch eighth straight AFC West title - ESPN

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Repeat division titles were once an unusual occurrence for the Kansas City Chiefs, who had never won back to back division championships in their first 56 seasons. But not anymore.

The Chiefs clinched their eighth straight AFC West championship by beating the Cincinnati Bengals 25-17 at Arrowhead Stadium. Their division title streak, which began in 2016, is the second longest in NFL history behind only the New England Patriots, who won the AFC East 11 consecutive seasons from 2009 through 2019.

The 10-6 Chiefs took a different path to the top of the AFC West this season. They are no longer the consistently high-scoring team they have been for much of the six seasons that Patrick Mahomes' has been the starting quarterback.

But they are much improved defensively. The Chiefs entered Week 16 with the third-best scoring defense in the NFL.

The Chiefs surged to a 6-1 start this season; at that point, another division championship looked certain. But the Chiefs then lost four of six games and the Denver Broncos trimmed Kansas City's lead in the AFC West to one game.

The Chiefs were finally able to secure the division title against the Bengals, one week after failing to do so in a Christmas Day loss to the Las Vegas Raiders.