Tag: No. 1 Seed

Chiefs clinch AFC’s No. 1 seed with 17-14 win over Falcons in Week 16

The Kansas City Chiefs are the No. 1 seed for the AFC.

The Kansas City Chiefs are officially the No. 1 seed in the AFC after a 17-14 win over the Atlanta Falcons in Week 16. They clinch the No. 1 seed with a week to spare in the NFL’s regular season.

The Chiefs have now locked up the coveted first-round bye week. It’s the only bye week available to teams in the AFC conference with the new expanded playoff format for the 2020 postseason. The No. 1 seed also means they won’t leave Arrowhead Stadium until they reach Super Bowl LV and head down to Tampa Bay.

This is now the fourth time in franchise history that Kansas City has been the AFC’s No. 1 seed. The most recent occasion came back in 2018 when the Chiefs clinched the No. 1 seed against the Raiders in Week 17 with a 12-4 record. They’d go on to reach the AFC Championship Game that year, but fall to the New England Patriots. Prior to 2018, Kansas City was the top-seeded team in 1995 and 1997 but failed to win a playoff game in the divisional round in each of those years.

After winning Super Bowl LIV last season, the Chiefs will have a chance to do more as the No. 1 seed than they’ve ever done in franchise history. All they need to do is persevere through the playoffs and to Super Bowl LV in Tampa Bay. That’s been the goal all season long and week-by-week they’ll get closer to that goal throughout the playoffs.

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AFC Playoff Picture: Chiefs control own destiny with Steelers loss

The Chiefs now hold the No. 1 seed and the best record in the league.

The Kansas City Chiefs are now in control of their own playoff destiny. They hold sole possession of the AFC’s No. 1 seed after the Pittsburgh Steelers suffered their second loss of the season to the Buffalo Bills in Week 14. In addition to the help from the Bills, the Chiefs took care of their own business in Week 14, winning the AFC West title for the fifth consecutive season.

Chiefs own AFC’s No. 1 seed after Steelers lose to Bills

The Kansas City Chiefs are now in control of their own destiny.

The Kansas City Chiefs had things fall their way on Sunday in Week 14 and now they’re in control of their own playoff destiny.

Kansas City took care of business, defeating the Miami Dolphins on Sunday. But the more pertinent item took place on “Sunday Night Football” between the Buffalo Bills and Pittsburgh Steelers. After a second consecutive loss by the Steelers, the Chiefs now own the top record in the AFC (and the NFL) at 12-1. That also means they hold sole possession over the AFC’s No. 1 seed and the lone bye week available to the conference. They were previously tied with the Steelers for that top record.

There are still three games left to be played this season and it won’t be a walk in the park for either team, but Pittsburgh probably has the more difficult path to redemption. Here are the next three games for both teams:

Kansas City:

  • @ New Orleans Saints (Week 15)
  • vs. Atlanta Falcons (Week 16)
  • vs. Los Angeles Chargers (Week 17)

Pittsburgh:

  • @ Cincinnati Bengals (Week 15)
  • vs. Indianapolis Colts (Week 16)
  • @ Cleveland Browns (Week 17)

It’s now on the Steelers to keep pace and hope that the Chiefs slip up along the way. If Kansas City were to win out, they’ll hold on to the No. 1 seed regardless of what happens to Pittsburgh. If the Chiefs drop a game somewhere along the way and the Steelers were to win out, things would go back to a tiebreaker scenario. We’ll go over those potential tiebreaker scenarios in our weekly playoff picture article.

For now, the important thing to know is that the Chiefs have a very good chance of hanging on to the No. 1 seed after the outcome of the Bills-Steelers game.

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