AFC Playoff Picture: Where Chiefs stand after Week 13

A Chiefs loss to the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 13 has knocked Kansas City down in the AFC standings.

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After holding the top seed for a few weeks, the Chiefs are now holding the No. 2 seed in the AFC. That means they no longer control their own destiny when it comes to possibly getting a first-round bye in the playoffs.

Here’s a deeper look at the playoff picture after Week 13 and heading into Week 14:

AFC standings after Week 13

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Playoff seeds

1. Buffalo Bills (9-3) [AFC East leader]
2. Kansas City Chiefs (9-3) [AFC West leader]
3. Baltimore Ravens (8-4) [AFC North leader]
4. Tennessee Titans (7-5) [AFC South leader]
5. Cincinnati Bengals (8-4) [wild card]
6. Miami Dolphins (8-4) [wild card]
7. New York Jets (7-5) [wild card]

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In the hunt

8. New England Patriots (6-6)
9. Los Angeles Chargers (6-6)
10. Las Vegas Raiders (5-7)
11. Cleveland Browns (5-7)
12. Pittsburgh Steelers (5-7)
13. Indianapolis Colts (4-8-1)
14. Jacksonville Jaguars (4-8)
15. Denver Broncos (3-9)

Eliminated

Houston Texans (1-10-1)

If the playoffs started today, the Chiefs would host the New York Jets in the wild-card round.

The Buffalo Bills defeated the Chiefs earlier this season, allowing the Bills to hold a playoff-seeding tiebreaker over K.C. That’s why Buffalo is back in that No. 1 spot. It’s unlikely the Bills drop two more games this season, so the Chiefs will basically need to win out and hope the Bills lose one game along the way to get back to that top spot.

Losing another game could actually send the Chiefs further down the seeding chain depending on how the Bengals and Baltimore Ravens do moving forward. The Bengals would hold a tiebreaker over the Chiefs if they held the same record, and the Ravens could end up with a tiebreaker over K.C. too if the Chiefs lose against more AFC opponents.

Long story short: The Chiefs need to win out and hope for one more Bills loss.

What's the playoff seeding tiebreaker?

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The playoff tiebreaking procedure is:

1. Head-to-head record, if applicable.
2. Best conference win-loss record.
3. Best common games win-loss record (minimum of four).
4. Strength of victory.
5. Strength of schedule.
6. Best combined points scored and points allowed ranking within the conference.
7. Best combined points scored and points allowed ranking within the NFL.
8. Best net points conference games.
9. Best net points in all games.
10. Best net touchdowns in all games.
11. A coin flip.

Who are the Chiefs' remaining opponents?

Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

Week	Date	Opponent	Time
14	Sunday, Dec. 11	@ Denver Broncos (SNF)	7:20 p.m. CT on NBC	Tickets
15	Sunday, Dec. 18	@ Houston Texans	Noon CT on CBS	Tickets
16	Saturday, Dec. 24	vs. Seattle Seahawks	Noon CT on FOX	Tickets
17	Sunday, Jan. 1	vs. Denver Broncos	Noon CT on CBS	Tickets
18	Saturday / Sunday, Jan. 7 or 8	@ Las Vegas Raiders	TBD on TBD	Tickets

 

Who are the Bills' remaining opponents?

Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports

Week	Date	Opponent	Time
14	Sunday, Dec. 11	vs. New York Jets	Noon CT on CBS	Tickets
15	Saturday, Dec. 17	vs. Miami Dolphins	7:15 p.m. CT on NFLN	Tickets
16	Saturday, Dec. 24	@ Chicago Bears	Noon CT on CBS	Tickets
17	Monday, Jan. 2	@ Cincinnati Bengals	7:30 p.m. CT on ESPN/ABC	Tickets
18	Sunday, Jan. 8	vs. New England Patriots	TBD on TBD	Tickets