KCKingdom
Fansided

Kansas City Chiefs trail the Steelers in AFC playoff picture

By Leigh Oleszczak

PITTSBURGH, PA - AUGUST 17: Byron Pringle #13 of the Kansas City Chiefs in action during a preseason game against Justin Layne #31 of the Pittsburgh Steelers on August 17, 2019 at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)
PITTSBURGH, PA - AUGUST 17: Byron Pringle #13 of the Kansas City Chiefs in action during a preseason game against Justin Layne #31 of the Pittsburgh Steelers on August 17, 2019 at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

Halfway through the season, the Kansas City Chiefs trail the Steelers by one game for the No. 1 seed in the AFC.

The 2020 NFL season is halfway through and it’s time to start looking into the playoff picture and where the Kansas City Chiefs sit in those standings. The NFL playoffs expanding doesn’t benefit the Chiefs, but it does make it more interesting for sure, as the Wild Card teams will be battling harder than ever to get that third spot.

The expansion of the playoffs hurts the Chiefs, as only one team now gets a bye week. Getting the Wild Card round off a year ago benefitted KC greatly in the postseason and helped get them to the Super Bowl. But, money talks in the NFL so the expanding playoffs were bound to happen at one point or another.

Here’s how the AFC standings look after nine weeks of NFL action:

  1. Pittsburgh Steelers (8-0) – BYE
  2. Kansas City Chiefs (8-1)
  3. Buffalo Bills (7-2)
  4. Tennessee Titans (6-2)
  5. Baltimore Ravens (6-2) – Wild Card
  6. Las Vegas Raiders (5-3) – Wild Card
  7. Miami Dolphins (5-3) – Wild Card

If the season ended after Week 9 (thankfully it doesn’t), the Chiefs would host the Dolphins in the Wild Card round. They actually face Miami in a few weeks and it’ll be in the same stadium where KC won their first Super Bowl in five decades, so that will be pretty special.

The Bills would host the Raiders (Buffalo beat Vegas earlier this season) and the Titans would welcome in the Ravens. Baltimore would most definitely make it a point to take down the Titans after they upset them in the Divisional Round last year.

The Steelers lead the conference at the moment, but they won’t end the season at 16-0, not in that division. It is very possible though that the Chiefs have to win out in order to ensure they get the No. 1 seed.

Let’s check out how the NFC standings look after Week 9:

  1. New Orleans Saints (6-2) – BYE
  2. Seattle Seahawks (6-2)
  3. Green Bay Packers (6-2)
  4. Philadelphia Eagles (3-4-1)
  5. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-3) – Wild Card
  6. Arizona Cardinals (5-3) – Wild Card
  7. Los Angeles Rams (5-3) – Wild Card

Obviously the standout here is that the winner of the NFC East will get to host a playoff game despite likely finishing the season under .500. If the Buccaneers are the ones to go to Philly in the Wild Card Round, the Eagles are probably going to get demolished.

In this scenario, we’d have the Seahawks hosting the Rams, Green Bay playing the Cardinals, and — as I mentioned — the Eagles would welcome in Tampa Bay. The Saints have the No. 1 seed, but that’s going to fluctuate a lot because it’s pretty wide open in the NFC.

Next. Predicting Results of Every Game in 2020. dark

The Chiefs have Week 10 off thanks to their bye week, but if the Steelers lose to the Bengals, they’ll come out of the bye in first place in the conference. It’s going to happen at one point or another and it’s critical more than ever to get that No. 1 seed.

Home/Kansas City Chiefs