Chiefs finish road slate with a winning record

The Chiefs have made themselves right at home this season … on the road.

Two games remain in the regular season for the Chiefs and both are at Arrowhead Stadium. No more road trips, and that’s not necessarily a good thing.

With Sunday’s 34-14 victory over the Ravens, the Chiefs finished 5-3 on the road. It’s the second time in three years the Chiefs have had with a winning road record, going 6-2 in 2013, coach Andy Reid’s first season in Kansas City.

The Chiefs’ previous winning road mark before the Reid regime was in 2003. Since the NFL went to a 16-game schedule in 1978, the Chiefs had won at least five road games in a season only five times before Reid, and they swept their division rivals in their stadiums this year for the first time since 1995.

“Good teams win on the road,” linebacker Derrick Johnson said. “Playing at Arrowhead is great, that’s what I would pick to do.

“But on the road, we’ve played really well, some of our best ball has been on the road.”

The Chiefs won their opening game at Houston, then dropped successive road games to Green Bay, Cincinnati and Minnesota.

But Sunday’s triumph was their fourth straight, and the average winning margin in those games is 20 points. That doesn’t count the 35-point victory over the Lions in London, which was a Chiefs’ home game.

The defense has been especially opportunistic on enemy turf. Sunday, the Chiefs scored two defensive touchdowns, a 73-yard fumble return by Tyvon Branch and a 90-yard interception return by Marcus Peters, one of Peters’ two picks against the Ravens.

The Chiefs have a defensive touchdown in each of their last three road games, and in the one before that — at Denver — they won the turnover battle 5-0.

Johnson pitched in Sunday with a team-leading 12 tackles and forcing the fumble that Branch collected and ran into the end zone.

Peters set the tone for the road success, intercepting a pass on the first defensive play of the season and setting up the Chiefs for a short field touchdown against the Texans.

“We don’t have a lot of superstars,” Johnson said. “But we have a really good team, we kind of complement each other, and it’s showing up on Sundays.”

And it plays well on the road, which is a hallmark of Reid-coached teams. Sunday marked Reid’s 270th game as head coach, with the first 14 of his 17 seasons in Philadelphia.

Sunday’s victory improved his overall road record to 79-56-1. His home record is slightly better at 80-54.

His mistake-free offense plays well no matter the setting. The Chiefs’ biggest mistake this season, five turnovers, came at home against the Broncos.

To Ravens coach John Harbaugh, a critical juncture Sunday came when the Chiefs opened a drive early in the fourth quarter at their 5, moved to the 14 and booted a field goal.

“For them to drive the field paints the picture of their season and what you have to do to win football games,” Harbaugh said.

No matter where they play.

This story was originally published December 20, 2015 at 6:26 PM with the headline "Chiefs finish road slate with a winning record."