Chiefs went from 17-game win streak to 0-5 in close games. What happened?

The Kansas City Chiefs are scoring more points than at this point last season, allowing fewer, and have improved their turnover margin.

Those are usually ingredients for success but that's not the case for the three-time defending AFC champions, who have four fewer wins compared to this point last season and are currently outside of playoff position.

How has that happened?

It's as simple as looking at how they've fared in close games. Kansas City is 0-5 in games decided by eight points or fewer after coming into the season on an NFL-record 17-game winning streak in those situations.

Nothing illustrates the difference more than comparing the first game against Denver in each of the last two seasons. The Chiefs escaped at home with a 16-14 win in Week 10 last season when Wil Lutz's last-second 35-yard field goal was blocked. Lutz hit a kick from the same distance at home on Sunday for a 22-19 win and a 4 1/2-game advantage in the AFC West over Kansas City.

The Chiefs went 11-0 in one-posseession games on the way to a 15-2 record last season, also winning nail-biters thanks to a botched snap by the Raiders, walk-off field goals to beat Carolina and the Chargers, an overtime win over Tampa Bay, a key pass interference call against Cincinnati and a toe on the end line that prevented a possible tying touchdown by Baltimore.

The Broncos have been on the opposite side of the equation, going 7-2 in games decided by eight points or fewer this season with six of those close wins coming during their current eight-game winning streak that has them at the top of the AFC standings with a 9-2 record. Denver made the playoffs last season despite a 1-6 record in one-possession games.

The Broncos aren't alone in having success in close games with two other surprising first-place teams also doing it. AFC East-leading New England (9-2) is 5-2 in one-possession games, while the NFC North-leading Chicago Bears (7-3) are 5-1.

Chicago has been outscored by six points and is the fifth team in the Super Bowl era to start a season 7-3 or better while being outscored with the others being Minnesota in 2022, Cleveland in 2020, and Denver in 1979 and 1992. Only the Browns won a playoff game, beating Pittsburgh in a wild-card game.

From the record-tying five walk-off field goals, several missed kicks and the most long kick returns in any week in a decade, special teams played a major role in Week 11.

Carolina, Chicago, Denver, Houston, and Miami all won on field goals on the final play on Sunday, marking just the second time in NFL history there were five walk-off field goals on a single day with it also happening on Nov. 12, 2023.

It wasn't all positive, as Jason Myers missed a potential game-winning 61-yard field goal on the final play of Seattle's 21-19 loss to the Rams and there were eight missed extra points for the most in any week since there were nine in Week 10 of the 2022 season.

Both San Francisco's Eddy Pineiro and Green Bay's Lucas Havrisik missed two PATs, although both of those teams ended up winning.

Kickoff returns also played a big part in the results Sunday with the new kickoff rule contributing to seven returns of at least 40 yards, tied for the most in any week since there were nine in Week 13 of the 2015 season.

Some of those returns played big roles with perhaps none as big as Devin Duvernay's 56-yard return for Chicago after Minnesota had taken the lead with 50 seconds left. The Bears ran the ball three times and beat the Vikings 19-17 on Cairo Santos' 48-yard kick on the final play.

Skyy Moore had the longest return of the day with his 98-yarder on the opening kick setting up a 1-yard TD drive that set the tone for San Francisco in a 41-22 win over Arizona.

Buffalo had four returns of at least 40 yards — including three by Ray Davis — setting up two scores in a 44-32 win against Tampa Bay.

Dan Campbell and the Detroit Lions kept trying fourth downs and failing.

The Lions went 0 for 5 on fourth downs in a 16-9 loss to Philadelphia with all of the attempts coming before the start of the fourth quarter. No other team had been stopped on five fourth-down tries before the start of the fourth quarter in any game as far as records at Sportradar go back to 1991.

Detroit didn't attempt a fourth down in the fourth quarter and became the third team since 1991 to go 0 for 5 or worse on fourth-down tries in a game. New England did it on Oct. 8, 1995, against Denver, and Campbell's Lions went 0 for 6 against New England on Oct. 9, 2022.

The aggressiveness cost the Lions a chance at two possible field goals, as well as field position. But Detroit has had great success on fourth downs overall under Campbell with a league-high 97 conversions since he was hired in 2021 with a 55.7% conversion rate even after the 0-fer on Sunday.

The most debated fourth-down decision might have come in Miami's 16-13 win over Washington in Madrid. With the game tied with 1:44 to play, Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel opted to go for it on fourth down from the 1 when a field goal would have given his team the lead.

Only one other team since 2000, had attempted a fourth down from the 1 in the final 2 minutes of a tied game with Cincinnati doing it in Week 17 of the 2021 season against Kansas City. The Chiefs committed a penalty on the play and the Bengals ran out the clock before kicking a winning field goal.

The situation didn't work out as well for Miami as Ollie Gordon was hit for a 2-yard loss, giving Washington the opportunity to drive for a winning field goal.

But part of the strategy behind the decision was knowing that the Commanders would have to start the drive near their own goal line with no timeouts. That proved important as Washington only drove as far as the Miami 38 and Matt Gay missed a 56-yard field goal that might very well have been a shorter attempt if the Dolphins had kicked their own field goal and given the Commanders the ball on a kickoff.

Miami ended up winning in overtime.

Two of the game's biggest stars delivered some signature performances on Sunday.

Buffalo's Josh Allen threw three touchdown passes and ran for three more TDs, duplicating a feat he had done just last season in Week 14 against the Los Angeles Rams.

But it's a truly rare accomplishment with only other player in NFL history pulling it off more than 70 years ago. Hall of Famer Otto Graham has the only other game with three TD passes and three TD runs, doing it in Cleveland's 1954 NFL title game win over Detroit.

Myles Garrett pulled off an impressive feat of his own that was only slightly less rare. Garrett had four sacks in Cleveland's loss to Baltimore, after getting five in a game last month against New England. Garrett also had a 4 1/2-sack game against Chicago in 2021, becoming the fifth player with at least three four-sack games since sacks became official in 1982.

Derrick Thomas and Leslie O'Neal each did it four times, while Reggie White and Chandler Jones did it three apiece.

Garrett's 15 sacks are tied for the second most through 10 games, trailing only Mark Gastineau's 17 1/2 in 1984. He needs eight in the final seven games to break the single-season record of 22 1/2 held by Michael Strahan and T.J. Watt.

Inside the Numbers dives into NFL statistics, streaks and trends each week. For more Inside the Numbers, head here.

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Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett (95) sacks Baltimore Ravens' Lamar Jackson (8) in the first half of an NFL football game in Cleveland, Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/David Richard)

Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen celebrates after scoring a touchdown against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025, in Orchard Park, N.Y. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Chicago Bears place kicker Cairo Santos (8) celebrates after kicking the game-winning field goal against the Minnesota Vikings in an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Matt Krohn)

Denver Broncos wide receiver Courtland Sutton (14) celebrates making a catch for a first down as Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Jaylen Watson (35) and safety Bryan Cook (6) watch during the second half an NFL football game Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) reacts after being sacked during the second half an NFL football game against the Denver Broncos Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)

HAVANA (AP) — Cuban soldiers wearing white gloves marched out of a plane on Thursday carrying urns with the remains of the 32 Cuban officers killed during a stunning U.S. attack on Venezuela as trumpets and drums played solemnly at Havana's airport.

Nearby, thousands of Cubans lined one of the Havana’s most iconic streets to await the bodies of colonels, lieutenants, majors and captains as the island remained under threat by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump.

The shoes of Cuban soldiers clacked as they marched stiff-legged into the headquarters of the Ministry of the Armed Forces, next to Revolution Square, with the urns and placed them on a long table next to the pictures of those slain so people could pay their respects.

Thursday’s mass funeral was only one of a handful that the Cuban government has organized in almost half a century.

Hours earlier, state television showed images of more than a dozen wounded people accompanied by Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez arriving Wednesday night from Venezuela. Some were in wheelchairs.

The official announcer indicated that they were “combatants” who had been “wounded” in Venezuela. They were greeted by the Minister of the Interior, Lázaro Alberto Álvarez, and the Minister of the Revolutionary Armed Forces, Álvaro López Miera.

Those injured and the bodies of those killed arrived as tensions grow between Cuba and U.S., with President Donald Trump recently demanding that the Caribbean country make a deal with him before it is “too late.” He did not explain what kind of deal.

Trump also has said that Cuba will no longer live off Venezuela's money and oil. Experts warn that the abrupt end of oil shipments could be catastrophic for Cuba, which is already struggling with serious blackouts and a crumbling power grid.

Officials unfurled a massive flag at Havana's airport as President Miguel Díaz-Canel, clad in military garb as commander of Cuba's Armed Forces, stood silent next to former President Raúl Castro, with what appeared to be the relatives of those slain looking on nearby.

Cuban Interior Minister Lázaro Alberto Álvarez Casa said Venezuela was not a distant land for those killed, but a “natural extension of their homeland.”

“The enemy speaks to an audience of high-precision operations, of troops, of elites, of supremacy,” Álvarez said in apparent reference to the U.S. “We, on the other hand, speak of faces, of families who have lost a father, a son, a husband, a brother.”

Álvarez called those slain “heroes,” saying that they were example of honor and “a lesson for those who waver.”

“We reaffirm that if this painful chapter of history has demonstrated anything, it is that imperialism may possess more sophisticated weapons; it may have immense material wealth; it may buy the minds of the wavering; but there is one thing it will never be able to buy: the dignity of the Cuban people,” he said.

Thousands of Cubans lined a street where motorcycles and military vehicles thundered by with the remains of those killed.

“They are people willing to defend their principles and values, and we must pay tribute to them,” said Carmen Gómez, a 58-year-old industrial designer, adding that she hopes no one invades given the ongoing threats.

When asked why she showed up despite the difficulties Cubans face, Gómez replied, "It’s because of the sense of patriotism that Cubans have, and that will always unite us.”

Cuba recently released the names and ranks of 32 military personnel — ranging in age from 26 to 60 — who were part of the security detail of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro during the raid on his residence on January 3. They included members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces and the Ministry of the Interior, the island’s two security agencies.

Cuban and Venezuelan authorities have said that the uniformed personnel were part of protection agreements between the two countries.

Meanwhile, a demonstration was planned for Friday across from the U.S. Embassy in an open-air forum known as the Anti-Imperialist Tribune. Officials have said they expect the demonstration to be massive.

“People are upset and hurt. There’s a lot of talk on social media; but many do believe that the dead are martyrs” of a historic struggle against the United States, analyst and former diplomat Carlos Alzugaray told The Associated Press.

In October 1976, then-President Fidel Castro led a massive demonstration to bid farewell to the 73 people killed in the bombing of a Cubana de Aviación civilian flight financed by anti-revolutionary leaders living in the U.S. Most of the victims were Cuban athletes returning to their island.

In December 1989, officials organized “Operation Tribute” to honor the remains of more than 2,000 Cuban combatants who died in Angola during Cuba’s participation in the war that defeated the South African army and ended the apartheid system. In October 1997, memorial services were held following the arrival of the remains of guerrilla commander Ernesto “Che” Guevara and six of his comrades, who died in 1967.

A day before the remains of those slain arrived in Cuba, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced $3 million in relief aid to help the island recover from the catastrophic Hurricane Melissa, which struck in late October.

The first flight took off from Florida on Wednesday, and a second flight was scheduled for Friday. A commercial vessel also will deliver food and other supplies.

“We have taken extraordinary measures to ensure that this assistance reaches the Cuban people directly, without interference or diversion by the illegitimate regime,” Rubio said, adding that the U.S. government was working with Cuba's Catholic Church.

The announcement riled Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez.

“The U.S. government is exploiting what appears to be a humanitarian gesture for opportunistic and politically manipulative purposes,” he said in a statement. “As a matter of principle, Cuba does not oppose assistance from governments or organizations, provided it benefits the people and the needs of those affected are not used for political gain under the guise of humanitarian aid.”

Coto contributed from San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Workers fly the Cuban flag at half-staff at the Anti-Imperialist Tribune near the U.S. Embassy in Havana, Cuba, Monday, Jan. 5, 2026, in memory of Cubans who died two days before in Caracas, Venezuela during the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro by U.S. forces. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)