Who do the Kansas City Chiefs play next? Playoff bracket and matchup scenarios

The Kansas City Chiefs clinched the No. 1 seed in the AFC a few weeks back, and thus reseted their starters for the final regular season game against the Denver Broncos. That gift allowed the Broncos to reach the postseason to begin with – though it remains to be seen if they'll return the favor and beat the Buffalo Bills as a result.

The Chiefs stars essentially have an extended bye week, but have remained active in game-planning and practice. As is always the case for the top seed in any season, practice does not resemble game action. A first-round bye risks a drop-off in quality come the divisional round, but Kansas City was willing to take the rest given their recent Super Bowl runs. The AFC runs through Arrowhead, which is a gift in its own right.

Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo was confident this team has the experience necessary to get up when the time is right.

"That would probably be a pretty fair statement," Spagnuolo said. "I mean, I think we've got vets in that room that have been down this road and know what it takes to get to where we would like to go. It takes a next level of preparation, it takes a next level of taking care of your body and getting sleep, all of that. We've got a checklist of things you need to do to go win a championship. I think now, everybody's fully in tune to checking all those boxes every week."

Who do the Chiefs play next in the NFL Playoffs? Well, it depends

Since the NFL re-seeds after the Wild Card round, the lowest-seeded team remaining will travel to Arrowhead and take on the back-to-back Super Bowl champions. Good luck with that! After Saturday's games, that team seems likely to be the Houston Texans barring an unexpected upset courtesy of the Denver Broncos.

If the Broncos were to upset the Buffalo Bills, which looks unlikely as of this writing, then they would face the Chiefs while the Ravens play the Houston Texans and CJ Stroud. Houston is fresh off a surprising demolition of the Los Angeles Chargers and Justin Herbert, who turned the ball over four times against DeMeco Ryans defense.

Chiefs vs Texans matchup history: Patrick Mahomes owns Houston

With Patrick Mahomes as the starting quarterback, the Chiefs have won three of their past four games against the Texans. The lone loss came in 2019, but Mahomes and Co. have solved the formula and won three straight games. In those game, Mahomes has completed an average of 71.8 percent of his passes for 270 yards. He has a nice career touchdown passes against Houston and only one interception.

If the Chiefs do have off against Houston, I like their chances, but that's not exactly a bold take.