You read the headline right Kansas City Chiefs fans: it’s time to start rooting for your rivals, the Denver Broncos.
No, I don’t mean hop on the Broncos bandwagon as they look poised to make a deep playoff run. Instead, you should be rooting for Denver in three of it’s final four games, omitting Chiefs-Broncos in week 17.
Why is that? Well, two of Denver’s four remaining opponents are the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Los Angeles Chargers, both of whom occupy playoff seeds above Kansas City. Losses for the Jags and Chargers would be a massive help to the Chiefs‘ playoff chances, which are currently on life support.
The Athletic’s Jesse Newell broke Kansas City’s playoff chances down in a column this morning, and yes, much of it does rely on Denver winning some games.
Breaking Down Chiefs Path to Playoffs
Kansas City’s first and foremost goal is to control what they can control, which means winning each of the final four games of the regular season. This alone would give Kansas City a 46 percent chance of making the playoffs; still not great odds.
Here’s where rooting for Denver comes into play. Because the Chiefs lost to the Jaguars, Buffalo Bills, and Houston Texans, they need to outright pass these teams to have a chance at making the postseason. Denver takes on the Chargers in week 18, a game KC fans must be outright praying for the Broncos to win.
A Denver win in that game, coupled with the Chiefs beating the Chargers this weekend and a loss to either the Cowboys or Texans would elevate them above the LA in the standings. That factor alone puts the Chiefs playoff chances at 72 percent (assuming they win out).
Another couple of things need to happen: Indianapolis needs to lose two of it’s next four games, which has a very good possibility of happening considering the Colts have turned to 44-year-old Phillip Rivers at QB. The Chiefs have the tiebreaker over Indianapolis, meaning they can finish with the same record and be above them in the standings.
They’ll also need either the Ravens or the Steelers to finish at no better than 9-8.
All of this happening would give Kansas City the No. 7 seed in the playoff picture. Is it likely? No.
But it is something Chiefs fans need right now: hope.
Chiefs Final Four Opponents
Again, the playoffs are completely out of the picture if Kansas City loses one more game. First up is the Chargers, who defeated Kansas City all the way back in week one when they faced off in Brazil.
Following that game, the Chiefs will play Tennessee, which should be about as close to an automatic win as exists in the NFL. Then comes the big test: the Broncos.
Can Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs depleted O-line provide enough of a spark to overcome the Broncos elite pass rush? That’s a question that wasn’t answered in week 11, when Denver defeated KC 22-19. The Chiefs will need to scheme something crazy up to have a chance against the Broncos defense which is one of the best in the NFL.
Finally, the season will end with the Las Vegas Raiders. Not only might the Chiefs be playing for a playoff spot, but the Raiders may be looking to lose to get a better draft pick, making that game very winnable for Kansas City.
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