Tag: AFC Playoffs

POLL: Which team do you want the Chiefs to play in the divisional round?

Which team do you want to see the #Chiefs face in the divisional round of the playoffs? Be sure to vote in our poll:

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The Kansas City Chiefs got wild-card weekend off after securing the No. 1 seed in the AFC conference, but every other AFC team is playing a game this weekend. The Jacksonville Jaguars and Los Angeles Chargers have already squared off, with Jaguars pulling off an improbable comeback despite a bevy of turnovers by QB Trevor Lawrence.

In our latest poll, we’re asking fans an important question. Which opposing team do you want to see as Kansas City’s opponent in the divisional round next weekend?

There are three possible opponents that they could end up with. They’ll face the lowest-remaining seed in the AFC playoff picture, which means there is no way for them to play Buffalo (2) or Cincinnati (3) in the divisional round. There are benefits and drawbacks to facing each team, but there is little denying the history of success that the Chiefs have against each of their possible opponents.

  • Kansas City has a 3-1 record against Baltimore during the Patrick Mahomes era.
  • Kansas City has a 3-0 record against Jacksonville during the Patrick Mahomes era.
  • Kansas City has a 1-0 record against Miami during the Patrick Mahomes era.

Keep in mind, those are regular season records. The Chiefs haven’t faced any of these teams in the playoffs during Patrick Mahomes’ tenure with the team.

Be sure to vote in the poll and choose your ideal opponent at the top of the page. Let us know your thoughts in the comment section down below and on Facebook and Twitter.

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What’s the biggest weakness for every AFC wild-card team?

Our @Nicolas_Roesch takes a look at the weaknesses of every team in the AFC wild-card round.

The Kansas City Chiefs will enjoy a bye week during the AFC wild-card round, but you can be certain they’ll be keeping a close eye on every team.

One of the most important ways NFL teams prepare for their opponents is to exploit their weaknesses. The playoffs feature the best of the best, but no team is perfect. Today we’re going to identify each AFC playoff team’s weakness and how the Chiefs can take advantage of them in a potential matchup.

Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes embracing being the oldest QB in the AFC playoffs

Patrick Mahomes is the oldest quarterback in the AFC playoff race and he’s hoping his veteran experience will give the #Chiefs an edge over their opponents.

Kansas City Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes used to be at the pinnacle of the youth movement at the quarterback position in the NFL. It wasn’t long ago that he was the youngest ever to win the NFL’s MVP and Super Bowl MVP awards. In the upcoming AFC playoff race, things have changed.

The 27-year-old quarterback finds himself as the oldest quarterback in the AFC playoff picture. It’s not quite as significant an age gap as say 45-year-old Tom Brady and the quarterbacks in the NFC, but it’s still significant. Mahomes says things have changed a bit for him as he enters his fifth consecutive season leading Kansas City to the playoffs.

 “Yeah, I feel like it’s changed,” Mahomes said. “I have two kids now, I’m married. I’m kind of an old soul, so I am kind of the oldest – I am literally the oldest quarterback in the AFC. It speaks to the talent that we have in the AFC and the guys that I’m looking around at are going to be there for a long time, so I’ll be the old head in the AFC for a while now and I’ll try to use that experience to my advantage.”

While quarterbacks like Josh Allen (26), Joe Burrow (26) and Lamar Jackson (26) have been to the postseason before, some even facing Mahomes and the Chiefs head-to-head in the postseason. Allen’s six playoff appearances are the second-closest to Mahomes, who has 11 playoff appearances in his NFL career. Players like Justin Herbert (24), Tua Tagovailoa (24) and Trevor Lawrence (23) are all making their first postseason appearance this season.

Mahomes will look to use his experience, which amounts to an 8-3 postseason record with four AFC title game appearances and two Super Bowl appearances, to give his team an edge in the playoffs.

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Chiefs Playoff Picture: Previewing the NFL’s wild-card round

Our @WesleyRoesch previews the NFL’s wild-card round of the playoffs with a look at probabilities for the #Chiefs’ potential divisional-round opponents.

The NFL playoffs are set, and the Kansas City Chiefs will get a much-needed week’s worth of rest.

The Chiefs did their job in Week 18 by defeating the Las Vegas Raiders, earning the No. 1 seed and a first-round bye in the playoffs. The wild-card round will take place January 14-16, and the Chiefs will play the lowest remaining seed in the AFC on January 21 or 22.

Here’s a look at who the Chiefs could play based on the outcome of the three AFC wild-card round matchups:

(7) MIA at (2) BUF (6) BAL at (3) CIN (5) LAC at (4) JAX Chiefs play… Probability*
Dolphins Ravens Chargers Dolphins 1.89%
Dolphins Ravens Jaguars Dolphins 1.49%
Dolphins Bengals Chargers Dolphins 5.39%
Dolphins Bengals Jaguars Dolphins 4.23%
Bills Ravens Chargers Ravens 12.67%
Bills Ravens Jaguars Ravens 9.95%
Bills Bengals Chargers Chargers 36.05%
Bills Bengals Jaguars Jaguars 28.33%

Since the Chiefs will play the lowest remaining seed, it’s not possible for them to face the Cincinnati Bengals or Buffalo Bills in the divisional round — those two could only play the Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game.

But before we look too far ahead, let’s preview the upcoming matchups.

*Implied probabilities based on Tipico NFL odds at time of publish.

2023 NFL wild-card weekend schedule: Times, dates, matchups for opening round

​The NFL announced the schedule of sites, dates, and times for Super Wild Card Weekend January 14-16, and the Cowboys vs. Buccaneers will finish on Monday Night Football

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​The NFL announced tonight the schedule of sites, dates, and times for Super Wild Card Weekend January 14-16.

The Philadelphia Eagles are the NFC East champs and the No. 1 overall seed in the NFC after a win over the Giants.

Jalen Hurts returned to the lineup and provided stability at quarterback, going 20-35 passing for 229 yards and one interception.

In the NFC, the Lions knocked off the Packers, 20-16, sending Geno Smith and the Seahawks to the playoffs.

Here’s the complete schedule for the NFL’s Super Wild Card Weekend.

Joe Mixon celebrated a TD by mocking the NFL’s coin-flip proposal for the Bengals

“What’s the most you ever lost on a coin toss?” Joe Mixon, probably.

After Damar Hamlin’s cardiac arrest eventually led the NFL to cancel Bills-Bengals from last Monday night, a potential logjam at the top of the AFC saw Cincinnati draw the short straw in the new plan. While everyone made concessions in a proposal that could never be perfect considering the circumstances, the Bengals — the AFC North champions, mind you — were not guaranteed a home playoff game.

Were matters to break against a frustrated Joe Mixon and Co., a coin flip would actually determine whether the defending AFC champions would get to host a team — in this case, the Ravens — in their home digs.

After Mixon scored an early touchdown while the Bengals sent Baltimore an early statement on Sunday, he pulled a hidden coin out to celebrate. While gathered around by Bengals teammates, Mixon flipped the coin and kicked it away once it hit the turf.

I guess we really know how the Bengals feel about the NFL’s AFC playoff plan for them:

Mixon’s celebration and mocking of the NFL’s plan are fitting. If the Bengals beat the Ravens — and by early indications, it seems they’ll humiliate third-string Baltimore QB Anthony Brown — the proposed coin flip won’t even come into play. The Bengals would get their desired guaranteed home postseason game, at least in the Wild Card Round.

The statement from Mixon and the rest of the team makes it pretty clear they know they can control their destiny here.

Chiefs abstained from voting on AFC playoff changes for 2022

The #Chiefs abstained from voting on the NFL’s changes to the 2022 AFC playoffs, per report.

When NFL owners met to vote for the approval of Resolution G-1, Kansas City Chiefs CEO and Chairman Clark Hunt was among the few to abstain from voting on the proposal.

According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, the Chiefs decided to abstain from voting on the playoff changes because they felt the teams directly impacted shouldn’t vote due to potential bias. The Cincinnati Bengals are presumed to be among the teams to have voted “no” to the proposal after executive vice president Katie Blackburn pushed back against it.

Blackburn’s qualm with the proposal was simple — voting to make this change during the season introduces bias into the equation.

“The proper process for making rule change (sic) is in the off-season,” Blackburn wrote, via ESPN. “It is not appropriate to put teams in a position to vote for something that may introduce bias, favor one team over another or impact their own situation when the vote takes place immediately before the playoffs.”

It appears that the Chiefs agreed with Blackburn’s concerns.

According to Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio, the proposal passed with 25 “yes” votes. It needed just 24 votes in order to pass. Florio says that three to four teams voted “no” and that the rest abstained from voting.

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Breaking down Chiefs’ playoff scenarios for the wild-card round

Our @WesleyRoesch breaks down the many different possibilities for the #Chiefs in the wild-card round of the AFC playoffs.

With one more week to go in the NFL regular season, the Chiefs are playing for the No. 1 seed in the AFC.

Though the circumstances are unfortunate, the Chiefs’ path to the No. 1 seed has become much easier with Week 17’s Bills-Bengals matchup ruled a no-contest by the NFL. This ruling means the Chiefs just need a Week 18 win to earn a bye; however, several scenarios still exist for the Chiefs to play in the wild-card round.

I put together a spreadsheet that notes all 128 AFC scenarios for Week 18, with the Texans-Colts game not included since its outcome has no effect on seeding. Here is a list of who the Chiefs could play in the wild-card round:

Opponent # of scenarios Probability*
Bye 96 82.99%
Dolphins 16 8.85%
Jaguars 4 0.98%
Patriots 4 2.78%
Steelers 8 4.41%

A bye is the most likely outcome for the Chiefs, but there are quite a few different scenarios that lead to that outcome. Let’s break that down and analyze how the Chiefs could face the other opponents listed above.

*Probabilities based on predictions from FiveThirtyEight.com.

The Bengals drew the short straw of the NFL’s AFC playoff proposal, and fans couldn’t fathom why

There was never going to be a perfect solution, and it’s the Bengals who will likely pay the price.

On such short notice, there especially was never going to be a perfect solution to seeding the AFC playoffs. After Damar Hamlin went into cardiac arrest on Monday night — eventually leading to the league cancelling Bills-Bengals outright — that left a mess on the football field for the league to try and make every AFC contender as happy as possible.

Unfortunately, by taking a game off the docket (an entirely reasonable solution), some had to make more sacrifices than others. In this case, should the NFL’s proposal pass through on Friday, it will be the Bengals — who won’t have a guaranteed home playoff game despite winning their second-straight AFC North title. (Fate, in the form of a coin toss, might be in their cards!)

And, perhaps more importantly, they would play in Buffalo no matter what happens in Week 18 should the two teams meet up in a potential AFC Championship Game:

Someone was likely always going to have to take the brunt of the league’s shifting playoff plans. That said, it’s more than fair to wonder why the Bengals had to take that weight on rather than, say, the Chiefs, who lost to both the Bengals and Bills earlier this year.

Such is life in an unfortunate situation that would never have the ideal, 100-percent, perfect answer.

Updated AFC Wild Card standings after Jets see playoff hopes all but fade away Thursday

It’s a very small chance…but it’s not zero yet.

This most likely isn’t something Jets fans want to see, but incredibly enough, the Jets are still mathematically alive in the playoff race, though their odds are extremely low at this point. The Jets are down to just an 8% chance to reach the playoffs per FiveThirtyEight.

The Jets (7-8) now sit 1.5 games behind the Los Angeles Chargers and Miami Dolphins, who are tied at 8-6 and hold the last two playoff spots in the AFC. The Jets are now also behind the New England Patriots (7-7) and the Jacksonville Jaguars (7-8), as New York now sits No. 10 in the AFC standings.

AFC Wild Card Standings as of December 23

5. Baltimore Ravens 9-5
6. Los Angeles Chargers 8-6
7. Miami Dolphins 8-6

8. New England Patriots 7-7
9. Jacksonville Jaguars 7-8
10. New York Jets 7-8
11. Las Vegas Raiders 6-8
12. Cleveland Browns 6-8
13. Pittsburgh Steelers 6-8

Crazy enough, NFL Playoff Scenarios shows there is still a path to the playoffs for the Jets.

New England hosts Cincinnati Saturday while Miami is home against Green Bay on Sunday. The Raiders finish at Pittsburgh, home against San Francisco and home against Kansas City.

On the flip side, New York can now be eliminated this week as well after losing Thursday. That will happen with the following results:

-Patriots over Bengals
-Dolphins over Packers
-Chargers over Colts
-Ravens over Falcons OR Saints over Browns

As the old saying goes: “So you’re saying there’s a chance?” Yes, but it’s a small one.