Getty Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes
When the Kansas City Chiefs wrapped up their regular-season finale with a win over the Denver Broncos, they needed to wait for the remaining slate of Week 18 games to play out to determine who Kansas City’s first opponent would be in the playoffs, and more importantly, when the game would take place.
However, for quarterback Patrick Mahomes, it didn’t matter who the defending AFC champions were going to face. The Chiefs would be ready regardless.
“When you get a first-round bye it’s more of a win, ’cause you’re going by a round in the playoffs, which are never easy,” Mahomes said during his postgame press conference on Saturday, January 8. “But it is what it is, we’re ready to go wherever against whoever. We just go in with the mindset that we’re gonna have to play each and every week to try and have a chance to get back to the Super Bowl.”
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Chiefs Fail to Reclaim No. 1 Seed
With a win in Week 18, the Chiefs needed the Houston Texans to beat the Tennessee Titans in order to reclaim the No. 1 seed so they could start the postseason with a bye week. However, that did not happen.
In a close matchup between AFC South rivals, the Texans were unable to make a defensive stop at the end of the game, which allowed the Titans’ offense to run out the clock and win the game 28-25.
The Texans made it interesting, but the Titans hold on and KC is locked into the No. 2 seed in the AFC playoff picture.
So, the Chiefs finish the regular season as the No. 2 seed in the AFC. The Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Baltimore Ravens in Week 18, which means there’s a chance they could face the Chiefs in the first round of the playoffs depending on how the Los Angeles Chargers’ game against the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday Night Football plays out.
KC Wins Close Game Against Denver
In a game in which Denver was 11-point underdogs at home, the Chiefs had to play four quarters of football in order to beat the Broncos in the regular-season finale.
On poor field conditions, quarterback Drew Lock and the Broncos’ offense kept Denver in the game with a few big plays, like 29 and 28-yard pickups by wide receivers Tim Patrick and Jerry Jeudy, respectively, on their final offensive drive of the game.
However, head coach Vic Fangio’s odd decision to kick a field goal at the end of the drive despite being down by seven points put the Chiefs in prime position to close out the game by running out the clock on the ensuing drive.
With an opportunity to close the game out with a first down, Patrick Mahomes finds Travis Kelce for the needed yardage on 3rd & 8.
#Chiefs lead 28-24 with 2 minutes left in the game. Denver has no more timeouts.
“My hat goes off to Vic and the Broncos for the game they played,” Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said during his postgame press conference. “I thought they played with great emotion and effort. I was glad we came out on the right end but Vic does a heckuva job and I respect the heck out of him and his football team. They’re tough.”
Unfortunately, Big Red’s kind words for Fangio didn’t resonate throughout the Broncos organization.
The morning after the game, Denver announced that they had parted ways with Fangio.
We’ve parted ways with Head Coach Vic Fangio.
“Vic will continue to have great success in this league, and I thank him for everything he did for the Broncos as well as me personally,” Broncos general manager George Paton wrote in a statement regarding the team cutting ties with Fangio.
“With the foundation in place, the progress that’s been made and the resources we have to get better, I’m excited about the future of our team. We will find an outstanding leader and head coach for the Broncos and our fans.”
GM George Paton on parting ways with Vic Fangio:
“With the foundation in place, the progress that’s been made and the resources we have to get better, I’m excited about the future of our team. We will find an outstanding leader and head coach for the Broncos and our fans,” Paton said in the closing of his statement.