Updated NFL Playoff Picture after Chiefs clinch AFC West title

Now that the Kansas City Chiefs have clinched the AFC West, let’s check in on the AFC Playoff Picture and AFC Wild Card standings. 

If Kansas City Chiefs fans thought winning the AFC West was going to be easy, the Houston Texans — as shocking as this is — had another thing coming.

Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs were heavily favored to beat the Texans, which meant it was almost certainly going to be a game in which the Chiefs unnecessarily gave their fans a scare. It took overtime for Kansas City to beat one-win Houston, but not every win needs to be pretty.

As ugly as the win was, it shored up the AFC West for the Chiefs and keeps Kansas City on pace to catch the Buffalo Bills for the No. 1 seed if the latter has a misstep down the stretch of the season.

Buffalo pulling out a comeback win on Saturday night kept them ahead of the Chiefs, but also highlighted how slim the margin for error is even for the mightiest teams in the conference. Granted, the Bills beat the Dolphins and the Chiefs struggled against the worst team in football, but no one seems to be running away with the AFC despite how rich the cream at the top seems to be.

With Week 15 almost entirely in the books, let’s take a look at what the NFL Playoff Picture looks like on the AFC side of things after Sunday Night Football.