Here’s how the Chiefs can clinch the No. 1 seed in AFC Playoffs

The Kansas City Chiefs only need a little bit of help to secure the top seed in the AFC playoffs.

This week has gone very well for the Kansas City Chiefs, who are already in the clubhouse with an overtime victory over the Los Angeles Chargers to assume control over the AFC West. New England’s loss to the Indianapolis Colts last night also proved to be beneficial for Kansas City, which would lose a tiebreaker to the Patriots on conference record but now have a better overall record than the AFC East leaders.

These developments are important for the race for home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs, which is still up for grabs with four weeks left in the season. Despite looking extremely sluggish during their 3-4 start, the Chiefs now find themselves in a prime position to lock up the conference’s top seed.

The Chiefs’ path to home-field advantage

There are two critical factors to watch here if Kansas City wants to secure home-field advantage. The first involves the Chiefs winning out over their final three games, which come at home against Pittsburgh in Week 16 before trips to Cincinnati and Denver to end the regular season.

Those games aren’t easy for the Chiefs but they should be favored in all three. The other thing that Kansas City needs to happen is for Tennessee to pick up a loss in one of its last four games since the Titans hold a head-to-head tiebreaker edge over the Chiefs dating back to their 27-3 victory in Week 7, which was also the last time that Kansas City lost a game this season.

Tennessee is currently 9-4 but hasn’t looked the same since losing Derrick Henry and A.J. Brown to long-term injuries. After today’s trip to Heinz Field to take on the Steelers the Titans host San Francisco on a short week Thursday, host the Dolphins in Week 17 before traveling to Houston to end the regular season.

Those games aren’t locks for the Titans either, even in Week 18’s matchup against the Texans, who beat Tennessee in Nashville a few weeks ago. A loss seems likely for Tennessee, which should open the door for the AFC playoffs to go through Arrowhead Stadium again as long as the Chiefs can take care of their own business.