The NFL is a survive-and-advance league. While at the college level, the eye test might matter, but how you win in the NFL isn’t nearly as important as whether you win. The Chiefs took that to heart in 2024.
Kansas City rarely looked like the juggernaut many expected them to be during the regular season, but the wins kept coming. The Chiefs coasted to the AFC’s No. 1 seed at 15-2, and they have proven in the playoffs that knowing how to win is more important than winning by a wide margin.
Will their fortune run out against the Eagles in Super Bowl 59, or is the Chiefs’ ability to make the most of high-pressure situations going to prevail again?
Here’s a look back at how the Chiefs won so many one-score games this season.
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Chiefs record in one-score games
Including the playoffs, the Chiefs are 12-0 in one-score games this season. Yes, 12-0. Kansas City’s two losses, one of which was in a game Mahomes sat out, were both multi-possession defeats. 12 of the Chiefs’ 17 wins, on the other hand, have come by a margin of only one possession.
The only teams to lose to the Chiefs by more than 10 points this season were the Saints, Browns and Steelers. Every other team was at least competitive, but just being competitive is rarely enough to walk away with a win over Kansas City.
What does that mean for the Eagles? Win or lose, expect Philadelphia to be competitive. That either means another heartbreaking defeat or the glory of being the first team to crack the Chiefs’ code in the playoffs in more than three calendar years.
Chiefs one-score games in 2024
Here are all of the Chiefs’ one-score games this season, including playoffs:
| Week | Opponent | Result |
| 1 | Ravens | W, 27-20 |
| 2 | Bengals | W, 26-25 |
| 3 | Falcons | W, 22-17 |
| 4 | Chargers | W, 17-10 |
| 8 | Raiders | W, 27-20 |
| 9 | Buccaneers | W, 30-24 |
| 10 | Broncos | W, 16-14 |
| 12 | Panthers | W, 30-27 |
| 13 | Raiders | W, 19-17 |
| 14 | Chargers | W, 19-17 |
| 16 | Texans | W, 27-19 |
| AFC championship | Bills | W, 32-29 |
MORE: Where Patrick Mahomes ranks on all-time Super Bowl wins list
Week 1 vs. Ravens
The Ravens marched down the field and nearly forced overtime against the Chiefs in the closing seconds of the NFL’s kickoff game, but Isaiah Likely’s toe was out of bounds on what would have been the game-tying touchdown, pending the extra point.
Week 2 vs. Bengals
The Bengals looked like they had the Chiefs right where they wanted them in Week 2. With Kansas City’s offense backed up and needing to get into field goal range, but a devastating pass interference call breathed new life into Mahomes and co.
Harrison Butker drilled the game-winning field goal, sending the Chiefs to 2-0 and the Bengals to 0-2. Had Cincinnati held on, the path to a playoff berth would have been much simpler for Joe Burrow.
Week 3 vs. Falcons
Kirk Cousins engineered some impressive game-winning drives early in the season, but this attempt came up short. After a non-call when Bryan Cook appeared to interfere with Kyle Pitts one drive earlier, Chiefs penalties jumpstarted a Falcons drive that would stall in Kansas City territory.
Week 4 vs. Chargers
Justin Herbert entered Week 4 hampered by an ankle injury, and it became more apparent as the game went on that he was severely limited. The Chargers saw a 10-0 lead turn into a 17-10 deficit, with the Chiefs’ offense struggling but Steve Spagnuolo’s defense clamping down on L.A. to keep Kansas City in the game.
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Week 8 vs. Raiders
The Raiders went to the fourth quarter trailing by only four points, but Las Vegas spent most of this Week 8 matchup playing from behind with an offense that couldn’t match Mahomes. The Chiefs jumped out to a 27-13 lead later in the fourth quarter, but a late Raiders touchdown drive allowed this game to finish within a possession.
Week 9 vs. Buccaneers
The Chiefs had all kinds of trouble holding off a Buccaneers team most counted out due to wide receiver injuries in Week 9. Playing without Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and Jalen McMillan, Tampa Bay jumped out to a 17-10 lead before the fourth quarter and forced overtime with a late touchdown drive even after Kansas City jumped in front.
Come overtime, the Chiefs won the coin toss and marched down the field for the win.
Week 10 vs. Broncos
Perhaps the Chiefs’ most improbable win of 2024 despite entering as a considerable favorite, Kansas City survived when Wil Lutz’s 35-yard field goal attempt for the win was blocked. The Chiefs’ offense struggled all day long, but the defense shut out the Broncos in the second half to keep the game within reach. Just when it looked like the Denver eked out a game-winning drive, the Chiefs’ magic struck again.
Week 12 vs. Panthers
The Chiefs let Bryce Young and the Panthers come all the way back from a two-touchdown deficit and tie the game just after the two-minute warning, but that left enough time for Kansas City’s offense to get down the field and put Spencer Shrader in position for the game-winning field goal.
The game was a breakthrough moment for Young, but it wasn’t enough to sink the Chiefs.
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Week 13 vs. Raiders
The Raiders appeared to be dead in the water when they went down 16-3 late in the third quarter of their Black Friday game in Kansas City, but a pair of big-play touchdowns allowed Las Vegas to stunningly take the lead.
The Chiefs would take the lead back on a field goal, but the Raiders kept getting the ball back and were on the verge of field goal range in the closing minutes when the ball was snapped before QB Aidan O’Connell was ready. Kansas City recovered and won the game.
Week 14 vs. Chargers
The Chiefs let the Chargers hang around all day despite L.A. missing top WR Ladd McConkey, and they actually trailed as the final minutes of the game came into focus. Kansas City got into field goal range on the final possession, and Matthew Wright, filling in for Butker, doinked in the game-winning field goal off the upright to clinch the AFC West.
Week 16 vs. Texans
The widest margin of the one-score games at eight points, the Texans trailed by only a point for much of the third quarter but simply could not recover from a gruesome injury to WR Tank Dell on the touchdown that cut into the Chiefs’ deficit.
AFC championship vs. Bills
It’s not possible for the Chiefs and Bills to not play a close game together, and the AFC championship game delivered. Just when it looked like Buffalo had the chance to go down the field and potentially extend its lead to two possessions early in the fourth quarter, the Chiefs just barely stopped Josh Allen on fourth down and got the ball back to set up a go-ahead touchdown drive.
The Bills would tie the game at 29, but their last-ditch drive after a go-ahead Chiefs field goal came up empty.
