AFC Playoff Picture: Chiefs positioned to secure top seed
The Kansas City Chiefs took care of business in Week 11, advancing to a 9-1 record on the season after a 35-31 win over the Las Vegas Raiders. The team is in full control of their own destiny in the AFC playoffs. While they haven’t yet secured the top seed, they’re well-positioned to make that happen over the final stretch of the season after their big AFC West win in Week 11.
Standings after Week 11
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Playoff seeds 1. Steelers (10-0) [AFC North leader] 2. Chiefs (9-1) [AFC West leader] 3. Bills (7-3) [AFC East leader] 4. Colts (7-3) [AFC South leader] 5. Titans (7-3) 6. Browns (7-3) 7. Raiders (6-4)
In the hunt 8. Ravens (6-4) 9. Dolphins (6-4) 10. Broncos (4-6) 11. Patriots (4-6) The three wild card teams from last week all lost in Week 11, while two teams who were in the hunt won, causing a big shakeup in the standings. Both the Tennessee Titans and Cleveland Browns would be wild card teams if the playoffs ended today, with the Baltimore Ravens and Miami Dolphins missing out. The Raiders fell to the final Wild Card spot with their loss to the Chiefs. That only means if the season ended today, they'd be poised for a third rematch during the playoffs. If you're K.C., you certainly don't want that to happen after how close this second game was.
AFC West basically locked up
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The Chiefs defeating the Raiders in Week 11 has given them a near-definitive chance at winning their fifth consecutive AFC West title for the first time in franchise history. According to ESPN's Football Power Index, Kansas City now has a 98.8% chance to win the AFC West following the outcome of Week 11. That's the highest probability of a division win in the NFL through the first 11 weeks of the season. While the team still has to play Denver and Los Angeles again, both teams are at the bottom of the AFC West standings. It'd take a monumental collapse and some unlikely outcomes for anyone but the Chiefs to win the AFC West.
As for the first-round bye...
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This week helped the Chiefs advance the cause for securing the only first-round bye week. Right now, the undefeated Pittsburgh Steelers hold the bye, but they're going to have a tough stretch of their schedule against conference opponents. Next week they face a desperate Ravens team playing for their season. In the last four games of the year, they'll face the Bills, Colts and Browns — all of whom are currently playoff teams. While games against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and New Orleans Saints look daunting for Kansas City, these games come against NFC opponents. That's favorable for the Chiefs because they can afford to lose to NFC opponents. Say the Steelers drop two games down the stretch and the Chiefs lose one of these two NFC matchups, they'd win the tiebreaker because they'd have the better conference record. That's just one of many possible scenarios, though. At the end of the day, the Chiefs still need a Steelers loss. The best way they can go about securing the only bye week is to keep winning football games regardless of conference opponent.
