KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- When the Kansas City Chiefs were 1-5 and heading into the final 10 games on their schedule, there wasn't anybody talking about them making the playoffs. The coaches and players simply wanted to win a game.

They not only won one, but have now captured nine straight victories with their 17-13 victory over the Cleveland Browns on Sunday at a windy Arrowhead Stadium.

Now 10-5 on the season, the Chiefs have played their way into the AFC playoffs, getting help this weekend when Baltimore upset Pittsburgh 20-17. That clinched one of the wild-card spots for the Chiefs -- the second time in Andy Reid's three years as head coach that Kansas City earned a playoff berth.

"We don't care if we win by one point, or 21 points," said Reid. "We were 1-5 at one point, so we appreciate every one of these things. It's tough to string a bunch of (wins) together in the National Football League."

So how does an NFL team go from 1-5 to 10-5?

"Stay the course; don't get caught up in what's being said and who is saying what," said wide receiver Jeremy Maclin, who caught an 11-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter and eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark for the season with that catch. "You have to always remember it's not a sprint, it's a marathon."

This game was the toughest the Chiefs played during their current streak. They held a two-touchdown lead at halftime, but struggled to apply a knockout punch to the visiting Browns on offense or defense or in the kicking game.

Cleveland quarterback Johnny Manziel kept his team in the game, largely by using his legs in the second half. The now 3-12 Browns held the ball for over 22 of the 30 minutes in the third and fourth quarters. The Chiefs ran just 14 offensive plays after halftime.

Manziel frequently escaped pass-rush pressure and finished with 108 rushing yards on 11 carries. But he struggled throwing the ball, hitting only 31 percent of his throws (13 of 32) with one interception.

"You've got to give a lot of credit to our defense in the second half," said Manziel. "I thought we put some good drives together. But when it came down to it, I don't think I was good enough in crunch time today; extremely subpar and cost us some points."

Trailing by four points, the Browns had two opportunities late in the fourth quarter to take the lead, but were unable to score. They faced a fourth-and-8 situation at the K.C. 30-yard line, and rather than attempt a 48-yard field goal in blustery conditions, Browns head coach Mike Pettine decided to go for a first down. Manziel's pass was incomplete into the end zone, with no receiver within 10 yards of where the ball landed.

Manziel had another chance, as the Chiefs were unable to run the clock, and Cleveland took over at its 30-yard line with 1:52 to play. The Browns moved to the K.C. 18-yard line, but Cleveland did not have any timeouts left, and Manziel could not stop the game clock before it ran out.

"You look at the scoreboard and you've lost," said Pettine. "But in some sense you feel like you just ran out of time."

The Chiefs started the scoring, using almost half of the opening quarter as quarterback Alex Smith led the offense on an 11-play, 65-yard drive that finished with an 11-yard pass to Maclin for the score. The PAT kick was good from Cairo Santos for a 7-0 Kansas City lead.

On the next Chiefs possession they went nine plays and 39 yards to set up a 40-yard field goal from Santos and a 10-0 edge.

The Browns got a 45-yard field goal from Travis Coons midway through the second quarter. But Smith threw his second touchdown pass with 32 seconds to play in the first half, hitting tight end Travis Kelce on a 13-yard scoring play for a 17-3 lead.

The Browns came roaring out of the intermission, as Manziel directed the offense on a nine-play, 82-yard drive that started with his own bootleg run that gained 34 yards. The touchdown came on a 10-yard run by running back Isaiah Crowell and the Chiefs' lead was cut to 17-10.

Manziel then led the offense 62 yards on 21 plays, reaching the Kansas City 8-yard line, but the Chiefs defense kept the Browns out of the end zone and Coons made a 36-yard field goal, reducing the Chiefs' lead to 17-13.

That was as close as the Browns got, and they return to Cleveland to close out the season next Sunday against Pittsburgh. The Chiefs will watch the Monday night game between Cincinnati and Denver with great interest. A Broncos loss would tie K.C. and Denver for first place in the AFC West, and the Chiefs own the tiebreaker edge with better division and conference records.

NOTES: LBs Justin Houston (knee) and Tamba Hali (thumb) were not available for Sunday's game, leaving the Chiefs without their 142 career sacks. The defense was unable to sack Manziel. ... WR Jeremy Maclin became only the fourth receiver in Andy Reid's 17-year head coaching career with the Eagles and Chiefs to top 1,000 yards. Maclin joins Terrell Owens (2004), Kevin Curtis (2007) and DeSean Jackson (2009-10) with more than 1,000 yards in a Reid offense. ... Wide receiver Dwayne Bowe was active for the Browns, as he made his return to Kansas City where he spent eight years with the Chiefs. He did not catch a pass. ... The national anthem was sung by Crosby Reid Naylor, the youngest daughter of head coach Andy Reid.