Chiefs clinch AFC West with win over Lions

The Kansas City Chiefs clinched the AFC West with a solid performance against the Detroit Lions this past Sunday.

The 45-17 win also helped the Chiefs keep pace with the New England Patriots for home field advantage throughout the playoffs.

The Chief's offense rolled easily in this victory and their defense stood up to the test.

The stars of the game for the Chiefs were running back Priest Holmes and quarterback Trent Green.

Holmes managed 94 yards rushing and scored three touchdowns, while Green passed for 341 yards, three touchdowns and missed on just five of his 25 pass attempts. Overall as a team, the Chiefs played a pretty solid game.

The scoring began when Green hit tight end Tony Gonzalez on a 27-yard touchdown pass just over half way through the first quarter. Then on their next possession, Holmes scored his first touchdown of the game on a 14-yard run to give the Chiefs a 14-0 lead.

Holmes punched in again, this time from nine yards out to make the score 21-0 at the beginning of the second quarter. At this point the Chiefs were beginning to make things get a little out of control for the Lions.

Following the touchdown by Holmes, the Lions got their first score of the game when kicker Jason Hanson booted a 29-yard field goal with three-and-a-half minutes to play in the second quarter. The Chiefs struck back again quickly when Green hit Derrick Blaylock on a 63-yard strike that gave the Chiefs a 28-3 lead.

Detroit didn't lie down following the long touchdown by Blaylock. Instead, Lion's quarterback Joey Harrington guided his offense on an 11-play, 57-yard drive that was capped off by an eight-yard touchdown pass to Az-Zahir Akim with just eight seconds left in the half. The score at halftime was 28-10.

Holmes opened up the scoring in the second half by running for a three-yard touchdown, capping off a nine-play, 46-yard yard drive. On their next possession, the Chiefs added a 35-yard field to increase their seemingly insurmountable lead to 31-10.

The Lions would score one more time on a one-yard run by Shawn Bryson with just under four minutes left in the third quarter to make it 31-17.

The Chiefs would score the final points of the game when Green connected with Gonzalez on a nine-yard touchdown pass. That pass completed a six-play, 77-yard drive to make it 45-17.

Once again, the Chiefs defense allowed another 100-yard rusher, this time Bryson, a running back that hasn't really been a good rusher all season, which points to a suspect rushing defense that could hurt KC in the playoffs.

On offense, Green had his usual spectacular game and Holmes produced three touchdowns on the day. The Kansas City offense is powerful and can overwhelm the opposition, but when another team has a potent offense they seem to have trouble.

The Chiefs will have to firm up their defense if they want to survive in the playoffs and make it to the Super Bowl.