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Brown, Colts down Chiefs

Dec 23, 2013 - 1:14 AM Kansas City, MO (SportsNetwork.com) - Donald Brown scored two touchdowns, Adam Vinatieri kicked three field goals and the AFC South-champion Indianapolis Colts beat the Kansas City Chiefs by a 23-7 margin.

Brown caught a 33-yard touchdown pass from Andrew Luck and recorded a 51-yard score on the ground for the Colts (10-5), who currently have the fourth seed in the AFC.

Luck completed 26-of-37 passes for 241 yards for Indianapolis, which has won two in a row.

"Great job by the offensive line," Luck said. "They got first downs when we needed them, great pass protection. As an offensive, I think we could have done more. This is a great Kansas City team so we were happy to put some points up and force turnovers which gives up short fields. It is big."

Alex Smith connected on 16-of-29 passes for 153 yards and two interceptions for the Chiefs (11-4), who are locked into the fifth seed. The Broncos beat the Texans on Sunday to clinch the AFC West.

Jamaal Charles carried the ball 13 times for 106 yards and a score for Kansas City, which had a two-game winning streak snapped. Charles had five total touchdowns in last week's game against Oakland.

Sunday's game was possibly a playoff preview. If Indianapolis ends up as the No. 4 seed, the two teams will meet again in the wild-card round of the playoffs.

"It's tough right now," Smith said. "I didn't think that we played very well in any facet of the game, certainly not good enough especially on offense. We didn't have the production and with the turnovers, you make it about impossible to win. We're going to have to learn from it."

Kansas City's only score of the game came on its first possession. Dexter McCluster's 25-yard punt return set up the Chiefs at their own 41-yard line. Charles capped the quick series with a 31-yard TD run.

The Colts started to gain traction on offense late in the first quarter. Da'Rick Rogers caught a 17-yard pass to move the ball into Kansas City territory. The visitors moved the ball to the 17-yard line following a horse collar tackle on Chiefs linebacker Derrick Johnson. The drive came up empty when Vinatieri missed a 34-yard field goal.

Vinatieri redeemed himself early in the second stanza. Griff Whalen caught passes of 16 and 21 yards to help move the ball to the Kansas City 29. Luck was sacked and the Colts eventually settled for a 46-yard Vinatieri field goal.

Knile Davis fumbled on the ensuing Chiefs possession. Cory Redding recovered the ball for the Colts at the Kansas City 33. Just two plays later, Luck dumped the ball off to Brown for a 33-yard score.

Indianapolis tacked on three more points after the Chiefs went three-and-out. T.Y. Hilton caught a 31-yard pass and Trent Richardson got six yards on 4th- and-1 to put the Colts in field goal range. Vinatieri made a 45-yarder to make it 13-7 Indianapolis with 1:54 left in the half.

Chiefs kicker Ryan Succop missed a 47-yard field goal with two seconds to go.

Davis started the second half with a 48-yard kickoff return. The Chiefs did nothing with the great field position. In fact, Smith was picked off by Jerrell Freeman.

It didn't take long for Indianapolis to capitalize. Brown broke multiple tackles and tiptoed down the right sideline for a 51-yard score.

After the Chiefs went three-and-out, the Colts tacked on three more points. A defensive holding call on 3rd-and-7 gave Indianapolis a first down. Luck threw an incomplete pass on the next third down, but Dontari Poe of Kansas City was penalized for taunting. The penalty kept the drive alive for Indianapolis, which got a 30-yard field goal from Vinatieri with 2:47 left in the third.

Freeman picked off Smith in the end zone early in the fourth quarter. Smith fumbled on the next Kansas City possession.

Game Notes

Indianapolis leads its all-time series against the Chiefs by a 12-8 margin ... Kansas City tackle Branden Albert and linebacker Justin Houston were both inactive ... The Chiefs turned the ball over four times.