The Kansas City Chiefs currently sit with a 12-3 record, which is good for the second seed in the AFC. With an easy remaining schedule and a big game ahead for the Buffalo Bills, the Chiefs’ playoff picture can change dramatically. Can the Chiefs steal the conference’s top seed?
Broncos at Chiefs
After easily defeating the Seattle Seahawks this past week the Chiefs’ playoff picture looks very manageable, as they have an easy schedule to finish off the regular season.
The team’s next game on New Year’s Day against the Denver Broncos looks to be written already. The Broncos fired Head Coach Nathaniel Hackett this week after a 51-14 loss to the Los Angeles Rams.
Denver has been struggling specifically on the offensive side all season and with the Hackett firing, they seem to be as dysfunctional as ever. Maybe firing Hackett is the jump start that Denver needs, but this is yet to be seen.
Although, quarterback Russell Wilson is set to come back from his one-game layoff after suffering a concussion. Even though Wilson has been abysmal this season he is an upgrade from backup Brett Rypien.
The Chiefs should cruise by this Denver team as the two organizations are polar opposites at the moment. The Chiefs have seen consistent success whereas the Broncos organization is falling apart.
Chiefs at Raiders
In the last week of the regular season, the Chiefs will travel to play their second straight divisional opponent. The Las Vegas Raiders are another AFC West team that didn’t live up to their potential this season.
The Raiders currently sit with a record of 6-9 and are on the brink of being eliminated from playoff contention. The Raiders are still a very talented team, especially on the offensive side of the football where they have stars like Davante Adams, Darren Waller and Josh Jacobs. But with the recent benching of quarterback Derek Carr, the Raiders are more than likely not playing for wins.
Their record may not reflect the talent level of the team but Las Vegas still competes well in most of their games. The Raiders have only lost by more than one score in one of their losses this season, this includes a one-point loss to the Chiefs early in the season.
The Raiders can very well be eliminated by next week. If this is the case they could be in the spoiler position when they face off against Kansas City.
This will be the tougher match-up for the Chiefs in their final two weeks. And will bring up a crucial question for Andy Reid, will the starters play?
The “Bill” Question
But the Chiefs’ playoff picture depends on mainly one game. Currently, the number one seed in the AFC is the Buffalo Bills who own a tiebreaker against the Chiefs. But this week the Bills take on the white-hot Bengals on Monday Night.
The Cincinnati Bengals have arguably been the best team in the NFL as of late and are in a position to improve their own playoff seeding. This is the game that all Chiefs fans need to have their eye on. If Joe Burrow and the Bengals can pull out a win against the Bills then the Chiefs control their own destiny.
A win for Cincinnati this week can change the fate of the whole AFC playoffs. Home-field advantage at Kansas City or Buffalo are huge advantages that these teams need. We saw last year how much it mattered when the Chiefs beat the Bills at Arrowhead.
But none of this matters if the Bills take care of business on Monday night.
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