Chiefs go from worst to first in AFC West with win over Raiders in Week 10

After a dominant win over the #Raiders in Week 10, the #Chiefs sit alone atop the AFC West division and are right back in the playoff picture.

The Kansas City Chiefs began their Sunday in third place in the AFC West and entirely outside of the AFC playoff picture. After taking care of business with a 41-14 win against the Las Vegas Raiders on “Sunday Night Football” they’ll finish the day alone atop the division and hold the No. 4 seed in the AFC conference.

The Los Angeles Chargers started out the week with the lead in the AFC West, but after losing to the Minnesota Vikings in Week 10, they’ve fallen down the standings. The Denver Broncos also lost their game with the Philadelphia Eagles, but they were already a game behind Kansas City due to their record against common opponents.

All the Chiefs needed to do in order to claim their place atop the AFC West was to defeat Las Vegas and they did so convincingly. The Raiders entered the week with a second-place record in the division, mainly because the bye week had them with one fewer loss than every AFC west team.

The Chiefs head into a non-conference matchup against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 11, but the remainder of their schedule after their Week 12 bye will have only division and AFC conference matchups. They’ll face the Broncos twice and each of the Raiders and Chargers once more. The result of those games will determine the outcome of their 2021 NFL season.

For now, the Chiefs are back in the driver’s seat with their offense and defense getting hot at the right time. They’ve stacked three consecutive wins in what looked to be the toughest stretch of their schedule. It won’t be long before they’re once again talked about as the team to beat in the AFC West division.

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NFL playoff picture: Broncos are in the hunt entering Week 10

Midway through the 2021 NFL season, the Broncos are ‘in the hunt’ for the playoffs.

Entering the midway point of the 2021 NFL season, the Denver Broncos are “in the hunt” in the AFC’s playoff picture. Denver is tied with every other AFC West team with five wins, so the Broncos are clearly still in contention to win their division.

Outside of the AFC West, Denver also has a shot to compete for one of the conference’s Wild Card seeds. Here’s a look at the top 12 teams in the AFC entering Week 10.

Team	Record
1. Tennessee Titans	7-2
2. Baltimore Ravens	6-2
3. Los Angeles Chargers	5-3
4. Buffalo Bills	5-3
5. Las Vegas Raiders	5-3
6. Pittsburgh Steelers	5-3
7. New England Patriots	5-4
8. Kansas City Chiefs	5-4
9. Cleveland Browns	5-4
10. Cincinnati Bengals	5-4
11. Denver Broncos	5-4
12. Indianapolis Colts	4-5

The four division winners in each conference make the playoffs each year, plus three Wild Card teams per conference. So seven AFC teams will reach the postseason this year. Sitting at No. 11, the Broncos obviously have some work to do, but they’re within reach of a playoff spot.

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NFL Playoff Picture: Saints control their own destiny, again, in Week 16

The New Orleans Saints have several playoff scenarios to clinch the NFC South in Week 16, but the easiest path means beating the Vikings.

This is starting to sound like a broken record. The New Orleans Saints need just one more win to clinch the NFC South and secure a top-three playoff seed, keeping them in contention for the all-too-valuable top seed. That’s been the story for two weeks, and the Saints have dropped a loss in each of those two games.

But there’s still a path or two for New Orleans to clinch the division after a loss or tie. The NFL announced Week 16’s playoff clinch scenarios on Tuesday, which I’ve broken down below. All odds via BetMGM.

First, though, let’s consider the current NFL playoff picture. Here’s your projected seedings and matchups via ESPN:

NFC playoff picture: Rams still in the hunt for No. 1 seed

The Rams can clinch a playoff berth with a win over the Jets on Sunday.

The Los Angeles Rams took care of business to open Week 14, knocking off the New England Patriots on Thursday, 24-3. As a result, they were able to sit back and watch the rest of the NFL duke it out on Sunday afternoon and night, hoping to get some help with a couple of upsets over teams L.A. is jockeying for position with.

They didn’t get much assistance from the rest of the NFC, with the Saints being the only team to fall in truly surprising fashion; they lost to the Eagles in Philadelphia. The Packers, Seahawks, Bucs and Cardinals all won, with Green Bay overtaking the top spot in the conference.

Here’s a look at the current playoff picture in the NFC with all 16 teams having played their Week 14 game already. Each team’s Week 15 opponent is noted.

Packers (10-3): vs. Panthers
Saints (10-3): vs. Chiefs
Rams (9-4): vs. Jets
Washington (6-7): vs. Seahawks
Seahawks (9-4): at Washington
Buccaneers (8-5): at Falcons
Cardinals (7-6): vs. Eagles
Vikings (6-7): vs. Bears
Bears (6-7): at Vikings

If the playoffs started today, the Rams would host the Bucs in the first round of the playoffs. The Packers would get a bye, the Saints would host the Cardinals and Washington would play the Seahawks at home.

Because the Cardinals are 7-6, the Rams haven’t yet clinched a playoff berth. Arizona can technically still overtake L.A. for a playoff spot and keep the Rams out of the playoffs, but that would take a minor miracle to happen.

The Rams have a better chance to secure the No. 1 seed than they do to miss the playoffs. According to FiveThirtyEight, the Rams have a 5% chance to earn a first-round bye with the top seed in the NFC, which is coincidentally the same odds they have to win the Super Bowl.

It’s still unlikely the Rams will earn the No. 1 seed, considering the Packers and Saints are both 10-3. In order for that to happen, the Saints would need to finish 1-2, as would the Packers, and the Rams would have to win out. It’s unlikely, but their 5% chance is better than it was last week (2%).

Here are the Packers’, Saints’ and Rams’ remaining schedules:

Packers: vs. Panthers, vs. Titans, at Bears
Saints: vs. Chiefs, vs. Vikings, at Panthers
Rams: vs. Jets, at Seahawks, vs. Cardinals

The Rams’ playoff chances sit at better than 99% entering Week 15, and their odds to clinch the NFC West are 64% compared to 35% for the Seahawks. The division will likely come down to their Week 16 meeting in Seattle.

Next week against the Jets, the Rams can actually clinch a playoff berth by simply beating the winless New York team. That would move them to 10-4 and out of reach of the Cardinals, regardless of whether they win out due to tiebreakers.

If the Rams beat the Jets and Seattle beats Washington in Week 15, the Rams can still win the NFC West. However, in that scenario, they wouldn’t be able to secure the division title until Week 17.

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NFC playoff picture, Week 11: Saints in sole possession of the No. 1 seed

The New Orleans Saints are in sole possession of the top playoff seed in the NFC after Week 11, following the Packers’ loss to the Colts.

The New Orleans Saints took care of their business against the Atlanta Falcons this week, and it’s left them in control of the top seed in the NFC playoff picture — for now. It’s up to New Orleans to keep up the pace and hold onto it down the stretch.

Only one team has been eliminated from the playoffs so far, and that’s the lowly New York Jets over in the AFC. There are a few long shots in the NFC like the Minnesota Vikings and San Francisco 49ers, but the horrible NFC East is keeping all four of its bad teams in the conversation.

Here’s your playoff picture ahead of Monday night’s game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Los Angeles Rams:

AFC playoff picture has Dolphins, Patriots in rearview mirror

AFC Playoff Picture post Week 10.

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Despite a tough loss to the Arizona Cardinals, the Buffalo Bills‘ win in Week 10 is the only thing that totally evaporated. The Bills are still in the thick of things in the AFC playoff picture.

But the Bills do have some competition within their own division now.

While most had wished the fat lady was singing, she isn’t yet for the New England Patriots. The AFC East title is still a longshot for the team who has won the crown the past 11 years, but with two-straight wins, they’re back in the postseason picture, at least. The Pats currently sit 2.5 games from the top of the AFC East.

The Pats aren’t quite considered worrisome just yet, but the Miami Dolphins certainly are… they’ve ripped off five-straight wins and are right behind the Bills. Both teams have the same amount of losses, but the Dolphins play on Sunday while Buffalo is on a bye.

Certainly noteworthy, the Bills currently do have the head-to-head tiebreaker on the fish.

And before we get to the full AFC breakdown, let’s give the New York Jets their credit. Gang Green did not lose a game in Week 10…

They had a bye.

Here’s how the full AFC playoff picture looks in Week 10:

Pittsburgh Steelers (9-0) — AFC North leaders
Kansas City Chiefs (8-1) — AFC West leaders
Buffalo Bills (7-3) — AFC East leaders
Indianapolis Colts (6-3) — AFC South leaders
Las Vegas Raiders (6-3) — Conference win percent tiebreaker over Titans, Dolphins, Raiders
Miami Dolphins (6-3) — Conference win percent tiebreaker over Titans, Ravens
Baltimore Ravens (6-3) — Common game win percentage over Titans

On the bubble
Tennessee Titans (6-3)
Cleveland Browns (6-3)
New England Patriots (4-5)
Denver Broncos (3-6)
Cincinnati Bengals (2-6-1)
Los Angeles Chargers (2-7)
Houston Texans (2-7)
Jacksonville Jaguars (1-8)
New York Jets (0-9)

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2020 NFL playoff picture: Chiefs sit comfortably among top teams

A look at where the Kansas City Chiefs stand in the NFL playoff picture following Week 9.

The Kansas City Chiefs are exactly where they hoped to be entering the bye week. Having just a single loss during the first part of the 2020 NFL season, they’re considered among the top teams in the league. As the NFL playoff picture begins to shape up Kansas City is positioned to become back-to-back Super Bowl champions.

The new playoff formatting this year allows an extra team into the equation for each conference. There’s also a situation where even more teams could be allowed into the playoffs if key games were to be canceled as a result of COVID-19.

Here’s a look at what the NFL playoff picture looks like with Week 9 in the rearview mirror:

Saints beat Panthers 42-10, finish regular season with 13-3 record

The New Orleans Saints handled the Carolina Panthers with flair, but their spot in the NFC playoff picture is out of their hands.

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The New Orleans Saints demolished the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, closing out the regular season with a 13-3 record and their seventh consecutive win on the road. It’s just the fourth time in 52 years the Saints have won 13 games in a single season, joining the 2009, 2011, and 2018 seasons as the best regular season campaigns in Saints history.

New Orleans was unstoppable in every phase of the game, gaining 379 yards on offense while creating three turnovers on defense and limiting the Panthers to 29 yards gained on special teams. Jared Cook led the team with 60 receiving yards, catching both of his targets. Latavius Murray and Alvin Kamara combined for 100 rushing yards on 25 attempts. Drew Brees was an effective 19-of-30 for 253 passing yards and three touchdown throws, avoiding even a single sack.

The Saints handled their business in Charlotte, but the work is hardly finished. All eyes now look towards the playoffs, where the Saints must hope for the Seattle Seahawks to upset the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday night. The Detroit Lions nearly defeated the Green Bay Packers, which would have clinched a first-round bye for the Saints, but Detroit’s injury-ravaged roster couldn’t pull it off. While the Saints may not have home-field advantage through the playoffs, they do have one of the NFL’s best records on the road over the last three years. This team can beat anyone, anywhere.

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Broncos coach Vic Fangio has an idea to fix NFL’s playoff seeding

Broncos coach Vic Fangio has an idea that he believes could fix the NFL’s playoff seeding problem.

The NFL’s playoff seeding system is flawed because division winners are ranked higher than non-division winners even if they have a worse record. A team that has a losing record (such as 7-9) could host a playoff game if they play in a bad division and win their division.

That kind of scenario could come into play in the NFC this year.

The Cowboys currently lead the NFC East with a 7-7 record. If the season ended today, Dallas would host the 49ers (11-3) in the first round of the playoffs. San Francisco would be punished for playing in a better division than Dallas. That shouldn’t happen.

Broncos coach Vic Fangio has an idea that would prevent that kind of scenario from happening in the future.

“Since the league went to 32 teams, which was when the Texans came in in 2002, my ideal suggestion — which has never been put forth in front of anybody important — I don’t think there should be divisions,” Fangio said on Dec. 11. “I think you’ve got 16 in each conference. Everybody should play each other once. That’s 15 games. Then if you want a 16th game, you play a natural rival from the other conference — Jets and Giants play every year, Eagles-Steelers, Texans-Cowboys, etc., play every year.

“Then keep it at 16 games, but you’ll avoid the problem that’s going to happen this year where probably an 8-8 team is hosting a 12-4 team. You’re going to get the six best teams in each conference. The divisions always float. There are some that are easy some years, some that have a bunch of good teams, that switches back and forth every couple years. I just think that’d be a good way to avoid it.”

The one drawback with Fangio’s plan would be the lack of non-conference games. If a team played a different non-conference opponent each season, it would take 16 years for an AFC team to play against every NFC team.

Would that be better than the current system? Fangio thinks so.

Fangio also isn’t a fan of the league’s proposed 18-game schedule. He suggested a reasonable substitution: two bye weeks.

“I just think 16 is more than enough,” Fangio said. “You can see some of these teams, us included to a degree, the injuries start to pile up. If they want an extra week of TV, give everybody two byes during the season.”

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AFC Playoff Picture heading into Week 16

The AFC playoff race comes down to which teams will win the wildcard between the Bills, Steelers, and Titans.

We are changing it up a little bit. There are seven teams left in the AFC playoff race and there are six spots, but all of the divisions are — essentially — over with. That means the only race left is for the two wildcard spots. Let’s just get right to it.

AFC East

New England Patriots 11-3

The divisions are essentially done but the Bills and Patriots could finish with a 12-4 record if the Bills win out and the Patriots lose to the Bills and beat the Dolphins. It’s over because if that happens, the Bills can’t win the AFC East due to the common opponents’ tiebreaker. The only way the Patriots can lose the AFC east is by the Bills winning out and the Patriots losing out. That’s tough to picture happening.

Remaining Schedule: Bills, Dolphins

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On the bubble

AFC East