AFC playoff picture: Chargers clinch spot but Chiefs still No. 1 seed

The NFL playoff picture in the AFC is wild after the Chargers beat the Chiefs. Both can still get the No. 1 seed, but Kansas City controls their destiny.

The AFC West is now up for grabs.

For much of Thursday night, it appeared the Kansas City Chiefs were going to secure a first-round bye in the NFL Playoffs. They led for the first 59 minutes and 55 seconds, but then, Philip Rivers threw a touchdown to Mike Williams with four seconds and then hit him on the game-winning two-point conversion.

Both teams are now 11-3, but the Chiefs maintain the No. 1 seed in the AFC with the Chargers in the No. 5 spot. The win clinched a berth in the playoffs for Los Angeles and they have a chance to win the AFC West if they win out and the Chiefs lose to either the Seahawks in Seattle next week or to the Raiders in Kansas City in Week 17.

The Chargers still have a chance to secure home field advantage throughout the playoffs, however. They close out the season with a home game against Baltimore and a road trip to Denver, which are two very winnable games for them.

Should Kansas City lose that game while Los Angeles wins out, the road to the Super Bowl would, unbelievably, go through the StubHub Center.

If that were the case, the Chiefs would then drop all the way down to the five-seed as the AFC’s first wild card. It would be quite a shocking result considering how they have been the most dominant team in the conference with one of the most unstoppable offenses in the NFL. They essentially have been penciled in for the No. 1 seed for weeks now but the Chargers showed it’s still up for grabs.

AFC Playoff Picture

1. Chiefs (11-3) – clinched playoff berth
2. Patriots (9-4)
3. Texans (9-4)
4. Steelers (7-5-1)
5. Chargers (11-3) – clinched playoff berth
6. Ravens (7-6)

In Hot Pursuit

• Colts (7-6)
• Dolphins (7-6)
• Titans (7-6)
• Broncos (6-7)