Bengals keep their promise in Chiefs' first loss

CINCINNATI -- Now the 1972 Dolphins can pop the corks and make the toast all over again.

The perfect record is safe for one more season.

With a punt return and a long touchdown catch, Peter Warrick eclipsed Kansas City's playmakers and let the Cincinnati Bengals back up their boast Sunday with a 24-19 victory over the Chiefs.

Trying to become the first team to go 10-0 since the 1998 Broncos, the less-than-perfect Chiefs unraveled against the Bengals (5-5), who finished the day tied for first after making Chad Johnson's guarantee come true.

"The worst thing is to have a guy come out and shoot his mouth making a statement, and they stood up to it," Chiefs cornerback Eric Warfield said. "This is a good team, but we feel like we shouldn't have lost."

The undefeated '72 Dolphins get together for a toast when the last winless team falls each season, reveling in their distinction. Warrick made this unbeaten team fall hard.

"That's having my back," said Johnson, who apologized to some of the Chiefs on the field for his guarantee. "They didn't leave me hanging in the wind, and I didn't want to leave them hanging in the wind."

The victory left them into a first-place tie with Baltimore in the AFC North. The Bengals haven't been in contention this late in a season since 1990, the last time they had a winning record.

On the Chiefs sideline, players just dropped their heads, turned their backs and blamed themselves.

"It would have been much worse if they had beaten us at our best," Dante Hall said. "But we didn't play well. It's like they say: 'On any given Sunday."'

Rudi Johnson ran for 165 yards and Jon Kitna threw two touchdown passes for Cincinnati.