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The Kansas City Chiefs benefitted from rule changes implemented by the NFL midseason due to the Damar Hamlin incident. A win over the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 18 gave them the top seed in the AFC without having to wait for the outcome of the Buffalo Bills game against the New England Patriots on Sunday.
Yet, quarterback Patrick Mahomes believes the Chiefs — who finished the regular season with a 14-3 record — positioned themselves to earn a first-round playoff bye even if they needed a little extra help from the league.
“It starts with the organization and coaches. They’ve set a culture that — it started before I was even here,” Mahomes said during his postgame press conference of Kansas City claiming the AFC’s top seed despite the team’s offseason turnover. “You get a lot of guys in here that learn how we do things, we have a lot of veterans on our team, and when you bring in new guys you show them (how to win) by the way you act.
“Luckily for us, [general manager] Brett Veach and Coach [Andy] Reid brought in a lot of guys that were ready to work and wanted to get out there as quickly as possible. I think you’ve seen as the season has gone on how those rookies are getting better and the veterans are starting to hit the right moment going into the playoffs.”
Mahomes in Line for 2nd MVP Award
After losing one of the greatest receivers of all time in Tyreek Hill, Mahomes set career-highs in completion percentage (67.1%) and passing yards (5,250) this season. He also broke the NFL record for total yards in a single season (5,614), which was previously held by former New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees (5,562).
Mahomes is the odds-on favorite to win the second MVP award of his career and will begin the playoffs with a bye week alongside an overall very healthy Chiefs squad.
Look out, NFL.
Twitter Reacts to Chiefs Claiming No. 1 Seed
Twitter users reacted to the Chiefs claiming the No. 1 seed in the AFC.
“Excellent teamwork to finish chapter 1 of the season. Practice samba one hour everyday and other FOOT movements everyday for chapter 2. Thank you very much for working hard as a team,” one Twitter user wrote.
“Congrats to all of you for an excellent season,” another user wrote. “Now let’s continue the good work in the postseason and plant our flag on the mountaintop again.”
“NFL Team Owners voted on the scenario. Chiefs didn’t vote. Y’all wanna say it was a Micky Mouse #1 Seed? Fine, just know your team voted for this. KC runs the AFC West,” another user wrote.
“Good job boys. One win and we got 5 afc champ games, potentially 2 wins and 3 super bowls in 5 years,” another user wrote.
“6-0 in the AFC West and the 1 seed. If this is what the rest of the division catching up looks like, hope they catch up every year,” another user wrote.
“Chief haters can cry all they want. A 14-3 season and they had nothing to do with the seedings that come from it other than win,” another user wrote. “I would be embarrassed to be a number 4 seed and the wildcard teams behind me having better records.”
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