How the Chiefs can clinch the AFC next week
By John Buhler
The Kansas City Chiefs can earn home-field advantage in the AFC in Week 16.
The Kansas City Chiefs are one of only two teams that can earn the No. 1 seed in the AFC with the other being the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Kansas City is now 13-1 on the year by hanging on to beat the New Orleans Saints at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on Sunday evening. They have two very winnable games the rest of the way vs. the Atlanta Falcons and the division rival Los Angeles Chargers, both of which are at home. What needs to happen for the Chiefs to earn home-field advantage in Week 16?
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There are only three teams in the AFC with three or fewer losses on the season: Kansas City, Pittsburgh and the Buffalo Bills. While all three are playoff bound, Buffalo cannot be the No. 1 seed because the 10-3 Bills lost head-to-head to the Chiefs back on Oct. 19. Pittsburgh is 11-2 after having lost its two most recent games to the Washington Football Team and to Buffalo.
What has to happen for the Chiefs to clinch the No. 1 seed in the AFC in Week 16? If the Steelers lose to either the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday Night Football in Week 15 or to the Indianapolis Colts in Week 16, the Chiefs can get the No. 1 seed with a win over the Falcons to get to 14-1. This would mean the second-place team in the AFC would finish no better than 13-3 on the season.
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If Pittsburgh loses at Cincinnati and home vs. Indianapolis, Kansas City will be the No. 1 seed in the AFC, regardless of what happens in the Falcons game. Those are the only two scenarios where Kansas City can earn the No. 1 seed before Week 17’s slate of games. If Pittsburgh beats Cincinnati and Indianapolis, it will have to be decided in the final week of the regular season then.
Only a historic collapse will keep the Chiefs from earning the No. 1 overall seed in the AFC playoffs.