The good news for the Kansas City Chiefs is that they didn’t drop any lower in the AFC this past weekend, and they eliminated the Denver Broncos from playoff contention.
The bad news for K.C. is that the Buffalo Bills won, keeping the Chiefs away from the No. 1 seed.
Let’s take a look at the AFC playoff picture following Week 14 and heading into Week 15:
AFC standings after Week 14
Playoff seeds
1. Buffalo Bills (10-3) [AFC East leader]
2. Kansas City Chiefs (10-3) [AFC West leader]
3. Baltimore Ravens (9-4) [AFC North leader]
4. Tennessee Titans (7-6) [AFC South leader]
5. Cincinnati Bengals (9-4) [wild card]
6. Miami Dolphins (8-5) [wild card]
7. New England Patriots (7-6) [wild card]
In the hunt
8. Los Angeles Chargers (7-6)
9. New York Jets (7-6)
10. Jacksonville Jaguars (5-8)
11. Las Vegas Raiders (5-8)
12. Cleveland Browns (5-8)
13. Pittsburgh Steelers (5-8)
14. Indianapolis Colts (4-8-1)
Eliminated
Denver Broncos (3-10)
Houston Texans (1-11-1)
If the playoffs started today, the Chiefs would host the New England Patriots in the wild-card round.
The Bills defeated the Chiefs earlier this season, giving them a playoff-seeding tiebreaker over the Chiefs. That’s why Buffalo is in the No. 1 spot. It’s unlikely the Bills drop two more games this season, so the Chiefs will probably need to win out and hope the Bills lose one game along the way. Chiefs fans should circle the Bills’ Week 17 game against the Cincinnati Bengals as a pivotal matchup in the AFC playoff race.
Losing one more game could actually send the Chiefs further down the seeding chain depending on how the Bengals and Baltimore Ravens do moving forward. The Bengals would hold a tiebreaker over the Chiefs if they held the same record, and the Ravens could end up with a tiebreaker over K.C. too if the Chiefs lose against more AFC opponents.
Long story short: The Chiefs really need to win out and hope for one more Bills loss.
What's the playoff seeding tiebreaker?
The playoff tiebreaking procedure is:
- Head-to-head record, if applicable.
- Best conference win-loss record.
- Best common games win-loss record (minimum of four).
- Strength of victory.
- Strength of schedule.
- Best combined points scored and points allowed ranking within the conference.
- Best combined points scored and points allowed ranking within the NFL.
- Best net points conference games.
- Best net points in all games.
- Best net touchdowns in all games.
- A coin flip.
Who are the Chiefs' remaining opponents?
| Week | Date | Opponent | Time | |
| 15 | Sunday, Dec. 18 | @ Houston Texans | Noon CT on CBS | Tickets |
| 16 | Saturday, Dec. 24 | vs. Seattle Seahawks | Noon CT on FOX | Tickets |
| 17 | Sunday, Jan. 1 | vs. Denver Broncos | Noon CT on CBS | Tickets |
| 18 | Saturday / Sunday, Jan. 7 or 8 | @ Las Vegas Raiders | TBD on TBD | Tickets |
Who are the Bills' remaining opponents?
| Week | Date | Opponent | Time | |
| 15 | Saturday, Dec. 17 | vs. Miami Dolphins | 7:15 p.m. CT on NFLN | Tickets |
| 16 | Saturday, Dec. 24 | @ Chicago Bears | Noon CT on CBS | Tickets |
| 17 | Monday, Jan. 2 | @ Cincinnati Bengals | 7:30 p.m. CT on ESPN/ABC | Tickets |
| 18 | Sunday, Jan. 8 | vs. New England Patriots | TBD on TBD | Tickets |
