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AFC’s worst nightmare comes true as KC Chiefs vault into No. 1 seed

By Leigh Oleszczak

MIAMI GARDENS, FLORIDA - DECEMBER 13: Patrick Mahomes #15 of the Kansas City Chiefs gets ready to take the field before the game against the Miami Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium on December 13, 2020 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images)
MIAMI GARDENS, FLORIDA - DECEMBER 13: Patrick Mahomes #15 of the Kansas City Chiefs gets ready to take the field before the game against the Miami Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium on December 13, 2020 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images) /
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The KC Chiefs are the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoffs after the Steelers lost on Sunday night.

The NFL playoff picture was shaken up drastically in Week 14, as the two teams previously holding onto the No. 1 seed in their respective conferences lost and that paved the way for the Kansas City Chiefs to leap up and grab it in the AFC and for the Packers to claim it in the NFC.

With the extra playoff team added, the fight for the first-round bye is one of the biggest storylines and the Chiefs want to make sure they get that bye and have home-field advantage throughout the postseason. If the season ended today, they’d be the one seed, but there’s a lot of football left to be played.

I’m sharing Rich Eisen’s tweet from Sunday night because it should get Chiefs Kingdom fired up for the final three games of the regular season. If the Steelers manage to win out (and they have a pretty difficult schedule), the Chiefs can still go 2-1 and keep the one seed so long as they don’t lose to the Chargers in Week 17.

Let’s take a look at the AFC playoff picture after Week 14.

  1. Kansas City Chiefs (12-1)** – BYE
  2. Pittsburgh Steelers (11-2)*
  3. Buffalo Bills (10-3)
  4. Tennessee Titans (9-4)
  5. Cleveland Browns (9-4)
  6. Indianapolis Colts (9-4)
  7. Miami Dolphins (8-5)

In the hunt: Baltimore Ravens (8-5), Las Vegas Raiders (7-6)

*Clinched playoff berth

**Clinched division

If the season ended today, the Chiefs would kick to get back at home while watching the other three Wild Card games unfold. Those matchups would be: Steelers vs Dolphins, Bills vs Colts, and Titans vs Browns, all very intriguing battles for sure.

On the NFC side of things, the Packers jumped into the top spot after the Saints couldn’t put away the three-win Eagles. The Packers had the head-to-head tiebreaker and their schedule is favorable down the stretch, so the NFC going through Green Bay seems pretty likely at this point. Here’s how the NFC playoff picture looks after Week 14:

  1. Green Bay Packers (10-3)** – BYE
  2. New Orleans Saints (10-3) *
  3. Los Angeles Rams (9-4)
  4. Washington Football Team (6-7)
  5. Seattle Seahawks (9-4)
  6. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8-5)
  7. Arizona Cardinals (7-6)

In the hunt: Minnesota Vikings (6-7), Chicago Bears (6-7)

The Packers would currently have the week off, but the other games would consist of: Saints vs Cardinals, Rams vs Buccaneers, and Washington vs Seahawks. Washington was able to take over as the No. 4 seed since they won and the Giants lost, meaning they’d host a playoff game. Hey, if they win out, they’ll have a winning record!

The Cardinals rejoined the playoff picture after a three-game skid and took over Minnesota’s spot from last week. The Vikings and Bears need to get going if they want any chance at getting into the playoffs.

Getting back to the KC Chiefs, the AFC didn’t want to see the road to the Super Bowl going through Kansas City, but as of now, that’s what we’re looking at. They have the Saints, Falcons, and Chargers in their final three games while the Steelers have the Bengals, Colts, and Browns. Pittsburgh losing their second straight game gave Kansas City some breathing room, as now they can afford a loss, even if the Steelers win out.

Eight Star Performances vs Dolphins. dark. Next

This should be a fun race to the finish for NFL fans and hopefully, the Chiefs hold onto that No. 1 seed.

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