Reuters: Sports News: Rare win for Chiefs as Pats, Texans make playoffs

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Rare win for Chiefs as Pats, Texans make playoffs Dec 3rd 2012, 00:15 By Julian Linden Sun Dec 2, 2012 7:15pm EST (Reuters) - Battling their grief as much as their opponents, the Kansas City Chiefs scored a rare win in the National Football League on Sunday, just 24 hours after one of the darkest days in American sport. For most teams, it was business as usual in the toughest league in the world. The NFL is no place for the faint-hearted and on most days, the only thing that matters is the win-loss column. The New England Patriots and the Houston Texans were Sunday's biggest winners, booking their spots in the playoffs with four weeks to spare. The Green Bay Packers and the Indianapolis Colts were also celebrating after recording victories that left them on the verge of making the postseason. The San Francisco 49ers and Chicago Bears both lost in overtime, defeats that could come back to hurt them when the seedings for the playoffs are decided. For the Chiefs, the result of their game with the Carolina Panthers seemed trivial by comparison, and not because they have the worst record in the NFL and no hope of making the playoffs. On Saturday, Kansas City linebacker Jovan Belcher committed suicide outside the team's training facility after killing his girlfriend. The players and coaching staff voted to proceed with Sunday's game, despite their pain. They won 27-21 but there were no wild celebrations, just raw emotion. Before the game, the Chief's chief executive officer Clark Hunt told the NFL Network: "We do have a lot of guys who are really hurting. "I told them 'There's not a lot I can say to you other than we're family and we have got to pull together right now and support each other.'" The game added a somber touch to a weekend where the first two playoffs spots were decided. The Patriots (9-3), last season's beaten Super Bowl finalists, clinched the AFC East division with a 23-16 win over the Miami Dolphins (5-7) in Florida. It was the sixth win in a row for the Patriots and the ninth time in the past 10 years they have won their division. The Texans (11-1) also chalked up their sixth straight victory, beating the Tennessee Titan (4-8) 24-10 to secure their spot in the playoffs, although they have still not clinched the AFC South division. The Colts (8-4) stayed in touch with an extraordinary 35-33 comeback win over the Detroit Lions (4-8). Rookie quarterback Andrew Luck passed for 391 yards and four touchdowns, including a 14-yard touchdown pass to Donnie Avery as the game clock expired to hand the Colts the victory after the Lions led by 12 in the final quarter. The Packers (8-4) joined Chicago at the top of the NFC North standings with a 23-14 win over Minnesota Vikings (6-6) at Lambeau Field with Aaron Rodgers completing 27 of 35 passes. Rookie kicker Greg Zuerlein converted a 54-yard field goal with 26 seconds left in overtime to hand the St. Louis Rams (5-6-1) a 16-13 victory over the 49ers (8-3-1), just three weeks after the same two teams played out the first NFL tie in four seasons. Rookie quarterback Russell Wilson threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to Sidney Rice to give the Seattle Seahawks (7-5) a 23-17 overtime victory over the Chicago Bears (8-4). The win kept the Seahawks in touch with the 49ers in the NFC West while the Bears lost their outright lead in the NFC North with the defeat. (Reporting by Julian Linden in East Rutherford; Editing by Gene Cherry) Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

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