The Kansas City Chiefs have advanced their playoff seeding with a win over the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 11. They’ve now moved to a 7-4 record with just five games remaining in the 2019 season. The win in Mexico City has provided the team with some valuable breathing room, which could help them during the stretch run.
If the playoffs started tomorrow, here’s what the AFC seeding would look like:
In the playoffs:
- New England Patriots: 9-1
- Baltimore Ravens: 8-2
- Kansas City Chiefs: 7-4
- Indianapolis Colts: 6-4
- Buffalo Bills: 7-3
- Houston Texans: 6-4
In the hunt:
- Oakland Raiders: 6-4
- Pittsburgh Steelers: 5-5
- Tennessee Titans: 5-5
- Cleveland Browns: 4-6
What lies ahead:
The Chiefs have a much-needed week of rest with a Week 12 bye. As they get healthy and take the week off of practice, they’ll also look to do some self-scouting and improve in a few key areas.
Three of the Chiefs’ last five games come at home and they’re all against teams in the AFC West. Since Patrick Mahomes’ first start in 2017, the Chiefs have won 9 of their last 10 meetings with AFC West opponents.
Their upcoming Week 13 game against the Raiders was flexed to Sunday afternoon because of the implications it might have on the AFC West playoff race. If Oakland wins against the New York Jets in Week 12 they remain a half-game back for the AFC West division lead.
The only road games remaining for Kansas City are Week 14 in Foxboro against the Patriots and then Week 16 against the Chicago Bears. Even if the Chiefs lost both of those road games, they’d still have a strong chance of making the playoffs so long as they win all of their home games. While the goal should still be for Kansas City to win out and attain optimal seeding, there is more room for error given the win in Week 11.
Remaining opponents:
- Week 13 vs. Oakland Raiders: 6-4
- Week 14 @ New England Patriots: 9-1
- Week 15 vs. Denver Broncos: 3-7
- Week 16 @ Chicago Bears: 4-6
- Week 17 vs. Los Angeles Chargers: 4-7