AFC playoff picture becoming increasingly clear for the Chiefs after the results of NFL Week 13

In this story:

Kansas City Chiefs News

The Kansas City Chiefs are coming off their eleventh win of the 2024 NFL season.

With each passing week, the AFC Playoff Picture has become clear for Kansas City. After Week 13, it’s the clearest it has ever been, with several teams virtually locked in despite only two having clinched playoff berths.

The Chiefs still control their own destiny as the AFC’s No. 1 seed, but it’s looking more and more likely that the Chiefs will have to remain as perfect as possible to get a first-round bye week in the playoffs. The Buffalo Bills are hot on their tail, and they don’t nearly have the grinder of a schedule that Kansas City has over the next five weeks.

Let’s dive in. . .

AFC Standings after Week 13 of the 2024 NFL season

In the hunt:

8. Colts (6-7)
9. Dolphins (5-7)

What does it all mean for the Chiefs?

It’s Week 13 of the 2024 NFL season, and the playoff picture is clear as day for the AFC conference. Of the two teams who are considered in the hunt, both have less than a 30% chance of making the playoffs. The teams who you see atop the leaderboards are, by and large, the teams who are making the playoffs this season. It’s really just a matter of seeding for the teams at this point.

Both the Chiefs and the Bills have clinched playoff berths. They continue to vie for the AFC’s No. 1 seed and a coveted first-round bye week. Buffalo holds the tiebreaker over Kansas City, which means that if the two teams finish with the same record, the Bills will get the top seed.

Remaining schedules for the Chiefs and the Bills

Kansas City is set to face four AFC playoff teams, including two AFC West teams, in the last five weeks of the season.

Week 14: Los Angeles Chargers (SNF) – Sunday, Dec. 8 at 7:20 p.m. CT on NBC
Week 15: @ Cleveland Browns – Sunday, Dec. 15 at Noon CT on CBS
Week 16: Houston Texans (Saturday) – Saturday, Dec. 21 at Noon CT on NBC
Week 17: @ Pittsburgh Steelers (Wednesday/Christmas) – Wednesday, Dec. 25 at Noon CT on Netflix
Week 18: @ Denver Broncos – TBD

Meanwhile, Buffalo will face one (Lions), potentially two (Rams), playoff teams in the final five weeks of the season. They face three AFC East rivals, but the Patriots are already eliminated from playoff contention and the Jets aren’t far behind them.

Week 14: at Los Angeles Rams (Sunday, Dec. 8, 4:25 p.m. ET)
Week 15: at Detroit Lions (Sunday, Dec. 15, 4:25 p.m. ET)
Week 16: vs New England Patriots (Sunday, Dec. 22, 1:00 p.m. ET)
Week 17: vs New York Jets (Sunday, Dec. 29, 1:00 p.m. ET)
Week 18: at New England Patriots (TBD)

Who should Chiefs fans be rooting for in Week 14 and beyond?

A Buffalo loss to the Los Angeles Rams in Week 14 would give Kansas City some much-needed breathing room. The Browns softening up the Steelers and the Jets tanking the Dolphins’ playoff hopes also wouldn’t hurt. Only 13 games are being played in Week 14, with several teams on their bye week.

The game that could truly prove to be important to K.C. is the Week 15 game between the Indianapolis Colts and the Denver Broncos. If Denver wins that game over Indy, it’s very possible that they’ll be locked into their playoff seeding by Week 18 against Kansas City. That means Sean Payton could be compelled to rest his starters for that week’s game. As much as beating the Chiefs is important, winning the team’s first playoff game since 2015 is more important to the Broncos.

Kansas City might still be fighting for the No. 1 seed at that time. It’d be a whole lot easier to accomplish that goal against backups. Ideally, however, I think the Chiefs would also like to rest some players in that final week, even if they’ve already locked up the bye week.