Playoff picture: Chiefs’ postseason spot clinched, they’ll now look for seeding
The AFC playoff picture adjusted only slightly based on Sunday’s action, but a little bit of movement made plenty of noise.
The Chiefs’ 23-16 victory at the New England Patriots clinched Kansas City’s playoff spot and gave them a fourth straight AFC West title. That means the Chiefs will be no worse than a fourth seed when the playoffs begin.
It will be the fifth straight playoff year and six in seven seasons for the Chiefs under Andy Reid.
With their victory and the Texans’ upset loss to the Drew Lock-led Denver Broncos Sunday, the Chiefs (9-4) moved ahead of Houston (8-5) in the AFC seeding. The Chiefs would be the third seed, the Texans fourth. The day started with the Chiefs in fourth behind Houston.
The Ravens (11-2) clinched a playoff spot by beating the Buffalo Bills and stand first in the seeding, a position that got stronger with the Chiefs’ victory. The Patriots (10-3) would be the second seed but now have lost the tiebreaker advantage to the Ravens and Chiefs.
The Bills (9-4) are the fifth seed. The Steelers (8-5) are the sixth.
Remaining games for the top four seeds:
Ravens: Jets, at Browns, Steelers
Patriots: at Bengals, Bills, Dolphins
Chiefs: Broncos, at Bears, Chargers
Texans: at Titans, Bucs, Titans
This story was originally published December 8, 2019 at 9:14 PM.