The Kansas City Chiefs have already punched their ticket to the playoffs, but their seed will be determined by the final weeks of the regular season. Kansas City has clinched the AFC West but is trying to get a first-round bye.
Heading into their Week 16 matchup with the Bears, the Chiefs were one game back of the Patriots for the No. 2 seed. If the Chiefs lose to the Bears, Kansas City would be eliminated from contention for one of the top two seeds.
The Chiefs need to win their final two games and have the Patriots lose to the Dolphins in Week 17 to have a chance at the No. 2 seed. Kansas City would win a tiebreaker over New England if the two teams finished with identical records thanks to their win when they played earlier this season.
The most likely scenario has the Chiefs finishing with the No. 3 seed and hosting either the Titans or Steelers on Wild Card weekend. FiveThirtyEight’s computer projections gave the Chiefs just a six percent chance of securing one of the top two seeds prior to their matchup with the Bears. The Chiefs already locked up the division title and were helped by the fact that they are the only team in the AFC West with a winning record.
While the AFC West is one of the weaker NFL divisions, the Chiefs have proven they can play with anyone in the league as their win over the Patriots showed. Kansas City is likely to have a harder road to the Super Bowl than teams like Baltimore and New England given they are projected to play on Wild Card Weekend.
Here is a look at the Chiefs’ playoff standings. We will be updating this info after the Chiefs-Bears Sunday Night Football matchup.
AFC West Standings
The Chiefs have clinched the AFC West.
TEAM | W | L |
Chiefs | 11 | 4 |
Raiders | 7 | 8 |
Broncos | 6 | 9 |
Chargers | 5 | 10 |
AFC Playoff Standings
The Ravens have clinched the No. 1 seed in the AFC. Teams with an asterisk have already clinched a playoff spot. Teams in bold would make the postseason if the playoffs started today. The top two seeds get a first-round bye and host a playoff game in the Divisional Round.
TEAM | W | L | T |
1. Ravens* | 13 | 2 | 0 |
2. Patriots* | 12 | 3 | 0 |
3. Chiefs* | 11 | 4 | 0 |
4. Texans* | 10 | 5 | 0 |
5. Bills* | 10 | 5 | 0 |
6. Titans | 8 | 7 | 0 |
7. Steelers | 8 | 7 | 0 |
8. Raiders | 7 | 8 | 0 |
AFC Playoff Matchups
Here is a look at the current AFC playoff matchups.
No. 6 Tennessee Titans vs. No. 3 Kansas City Chiefs
No. 5 Buffalo Bills vs. No. 4 Houston Texans
Bye: No. 1 Baltimore Ravens & No. 2 New England Patriots
AFC Wild Card Standings
The top two teams in the Wild Card standings will claim a playoff spot. Teams in bold would make the playoffs if the postseason started today.
TEAM | W | L | T |
1. Bills* | 10 | 5 | 0 |
2. Titans | 8 | 7 | 0 |
3. Steelers | 8 | 7 | 0 |
4. Raiders | 7 | 8 | 0 |
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