Lions defensive end Za’Darius Smith, left, sacks Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love during the first half on Thursday in Detroit. (AP photo)

A thunderous doink helped the Kansas City Chiefs gain some breathing room in the race for the No. 1 seed in the AFC after the Buffalo Bills fell short despite Josh Allen’s spectacular performance.

The fight for the top spot in the NFC stayed close as the Minnesota Vikings and Philadelphia Eagles kept pace with the Detroit Lions.

Four weeks remain in the NFL regular season to determine the playoff picture.

There’s a clear leader in the fight for the AFC’s bye. The two-time defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs (12-1) are in excellent position to secure home-field advantage throughout the playoffs after Matthew Wright drilled a 31-yard field goal off the left upright and through the goal posts as time expired for a 19-17 win over the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday night.

Patrick Mahomes again made all the big plays when the Chiefs needed them most and they rallied for their 15th straight one-score victory.

Kansas City has a two-game lead over the Bills (10-3) and Pittsburgh Steelers (10-3). Buffalo holds the tiebreaker over the Chiefs after handing Kansas City its only loss in Week 11. The Chiefs and Steelers face off in Pittsburgh on Christmas.

Russell Wilson improved to 6-1 this season, tossing two touchdown passes to help the Steelers beat the Cleveland Browns 27-14.

Allen became the second player in NFL history to throw three touchdown passes and run for three scores in the same game — Otto Graham did it for the Cleveland Browns in the 1954 NFL championship game — but Buffalo’s defense couldn’t stop Matthew Stafford, Puka Nacua and the Los Angeles Rams in a 44-42 loss on Sunday.

The Bills had won seven in a row. They visit the Lions this weekend while the Steelers go to Philadelphia.

The Eagles barely held on for a 22-16 victory over the feisty Carolina Panthers. The ugly win left some of Philadelphia’s players in a sour mood.

Wide receivers A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith weren’t thrilled with the offense’s performance. The Eagles (11-2) again relied on Saquon Barkley, who had 124 yards rushing on 20 carries.

That meant Jalen Hurts didn’t have to do much. He threw for just 108 yards with two TDs passing and one more rushing.

The Eagles have won nine straight games and trail the Lions (12-1) by one game for the No. 1 seed in the NFC. Detroit currently has the tiebreaker edge.

The Vikings stayed hot on the Lions’ heels thanks to a career day from Sam Darnold in a 42-21 rout over Kirk Cousins and the Atlanta Falcons.

Darnold had a career-best 347 yards passing and five touchdowns, leading Minnesota (11-2) to its sixth straight win. The Vikings finish the season in Detroit in a matchup that could determine the NFC North and the No. 1 seed in the NFC.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers moved into sole possession of first place in the NFC South with a 28-13 win over Las Vegas coupled with Atlanta’s fourth straight loss.

The Seattle Seahawks beat the Arizona Cardinals 30-18 on the road to maintain their hold on first place in the NFC West.