Following this past weekend of play in the NFL (Monday and Tuesday’s games not included), the Kansas City Chiefs find themselves firmly entrenched in first place atop the AFC. I say firmly with tongue in cheek, because to win that spot three weeks from now is all that really matters and K.C. must win-out to be assured of their seat at the top. Which, also assures them of the first round playoff Bye and also means all playoff games will go through Arrowhead. This past weekend, every game that needed to go the Chiefs way… did! The AFC Conference looks like this for now:
The Playoff Picture
All teams above the red line would be in the playoffs if they stared today. All other AFC teams have already been eliminated (Jets, Texans and Jags). If the playoffs started this coming weekend: Buffalo would go to New England, the Chargers would go to Tennessee, and the Colts would go to Cincinnati. The only game left this weekend to have an effect on the above standings takes place today when the Raiders face the Browns, in Cleveland. This game takes place his afternoon a 4:00 PM CDT and was originally scheduled for Saturday, but was postponed due to Covid-19. From ESPN:
As of Friday, the Browns have had 24 players — 12 starters, including the punter — who either tested positive for COVID-19 this week or were still on the reserve/COVID-19 list from last week…. The Raiders fought their scheduling change [of course], believing the protocols over the summer were clear that outbreaks could result in forfeiture….”
Raiders owner, Mark Davis, went on to say,
“Health and safety is No. 1, but it’s tough. Maybe Cleveland should travel here. That would make it more fair.”
Huh. The last time I checked, the “F” in NFL did not stand for, “fair.” For now, the games that put the Chiefs at the top of the AFC Conference this past weekend ended like this:
Losses by the Patriots, Titans and Ravens this past weekend have had an impact on the Chiefs for different reasons.
- Patriots – New England was at the top of the conference prior to all that went down this past weekend. Had they won, they’d still be at the top of the charts.
- Titans – Once the Pats lost, the Titans would have moved into the top spot, had they won, simply because they own a tie-breaker over the Chiefs. If they finish with identical records this year, the Titans will get the bump up in the polls because they’ve already beaten K.C..
- Ravens – Baltimore went for a two-point conversion and lost against the Packers by one point. There appears to be a new wave of coaches who are willing to sacrifice going into overtime tied up, instead they risk winning it now. Some say the analytics support such moves. I say poppycock. A coaches’ job is to put his team in a position to win games… not win at all costs. If that were really the case, why don’t they try an on-sides kick on every kickoff? By going for a two-point conversion on that play, and failing, HC John Harbaugh has dropped his team 2 full games behind K.C. and if they were somehow able to tie the Chiefs record this year, they’d also earn the tie-breaker because — like the Titans — they have also beaten the Chiefs during the regular season.
The CBS game day crew is finally catching on to the idea that the Chiefs are a Super Bowl quality team:
With three weeks to go, let’s take a look at each team at the top of the AFC and who they will be facing:
The Chiefs last three opponents include:
- vs. the Steelers
- @ Bengals
- @ Broncos
The AFC South is the only division in the NFL who has multiple teams that are no longer vying for a playoff spot (Texans and Jags).
The Surprise of the Season
Before the season began, and many times since then, pundits, including myself, were saying that the Cleveland Browns had the best roster in the NFL. I still think they have an incredible group of players, but the main problem appears to be their over-hyped quarterback, Baker Mayfield. I can see them going for a QB in the next offseason, either by trade or draft.
The NFC
The NFC has 3 teams with a 10-and-4 record, just like the Chiefs: the Cowboys, the Bucs, and the Cards. K.C. beat the Cowboys and it looked like the Chiefs were clearly the superior club. While K.C. los o he Bucs in Super Bowl LV, he Bucs took a big beat down from the New Orleans Saints on Sunday night: 9-to-0. While I have thought the Cards were the best team in he league, early in the season, they seemed to have fallen lately with a 2-and-3 record over their past 5 games and two of those losses were to the Panthers and the Lions, who have a combined 5-and-20 record, outside of their wins over Arizona.
K.C also beat the Packers, who have the league’s best record at 11-and-3, but you’d be hard pressed to convince me they could beat K.C. with Aaron Rodgers behind center, especially with Steve Spagnuolo’s defense at full strength.
Projections?
What do you think the Chiefs chances are of winning out? Do you think K.C. will have to win all of their remaining games to lock down the AFC Bye Week?
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Laddie Morse — ArrowheadOne
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