The Kansas City Chiefs are officially the No. 1 seed in the AFC after a 17-14 win over the Atlanta Falcons in Week 16. They clinch the No. 1 seed with a week to spare in the NFL’s regular season.
The Chiefs have now locked up the coveted first-round bye week. It’s the only bye week available to teams in the AFC conference with the new expanded playoff format for the 2020 postseason. The No. 1 seed also means they won’t leave Arrowhead Stadium until they reach Super Bowl LV and head down to Tampa Bay.
This is now the fourth time in franchise history that Kansas City has been the AFC’s No. 1 seed. The most recent occasion came back in 2018 when the Chiefs clinched the No. 1 seed against the Raiders in Week 17 with a 12-4 record. They’d go on to reach the AFC Championship Game that year, but fall to the New England Patriots. Prior to 2018, Kansas City was the top-seeded team in 1995 and 1997 but failed to win a playoff game in the divisional round in each of those years.
After winning Super Bowl LIV last season, the Chiefs will have a chance to do more as the No. 1 seed than they’ve ever done in franchise history. All they need to do is persevere through the playoffs and to Super Bowl LV in Tampa Bay. That’s been the goal all season long and week-by-week they’ll get closer to that goal throughout the playoffs.
