Chiefs clinch top seed after latest Falcons disaster

The Kansas City Chiefs can thank the Atlanta Falcons for this year’s No. 1 seed in the AFC.

Let’s be real. The Kansas City Chiefs‘ 17-14 victory over the Atlanta Falcons was exactly how we all drew it up in our heads before opening kickoff.

It was the ugliest win of Patrick Mahomes‘ illustrious NFL career, but he and his team found a way to improve to 14-1 on the season. As for Matt Ryan’s Atlanta team, the Dirty Birds stumble to 4-11 on the year. The 2020 Falcons are proof that talent does not matter, as this team should be four or five wins better than their record indicates. How in the hell did Atlanta lose this debacle?

The AFC playoffs now runs through Arrowhead Stadium

Late in the fourth quarter, Atlanta held a 14-10 lead over the Chiefs. Mahomes surely threw a pick in the end zone to Falcons cornerback AJ Terrell.

However, Terrell was not able to secure the impressive grab. Fate would have it that on the very next play Mahomes would find wide receiver Demarcus Robinson for go-ahead pay dirt to make it 17-14 Chiefs with two minutes left.

Atlanta would get in position for Pro Bowl kicker Younghoe Koo to nail a 39-yard field goal with inside of 20 seconds left to tie the game. Too bad Atlanta’s feel-good story of the season let the Falcons down in the bitter end. Koo shanked it. Mahomes and the Chiefs offense took over and it was victory formation en route to Kansas City clinching the No. 1 seed in the AFC.

https://twitter.com/Chiefs/status/1343296558880727041

https://twitter.com/ESPNNFL/status/1343300737477054465

While there are no guarantees that the Chiefs will even represent the AFC in Super Bowl LV down in Tampa, Kansas City now has a most crucial first-round bye. Though home-field advantage is not a huge factor this year, not having to play on Wild Card Weekend is the biggest thing now in the Chiefs’ back pocket. Anything short of hosting the AFC Championship Game is a total disaster.

As for Atlanta, the Falcons have one more game left against interim head coach Raheem Morris’ former team in the division rival Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Though 5-11 should not be enough to bring him back full-time next year, Morris is responsible for all four of the Dirty Birds’ wins this year, as Dan Quinn was canned after an utterly atrocious 0-5 start. At least this game was fun.

Nobody enjoyed this one more than Tony Gonzalez, and everybody watching FOX knows this.