The Kansas City Chiefs (9-1) lost their first game of the season to the Buffalo Bills (9-2) on Sunday afternoon. An early turnover from Patrick Mahomes on the second offensive snap of the game left Kansas City clawing their way back and it ultimately proved too much to overcome.
Even with the loss, at the end of Week 11, the Chiefs will be the No. 1 seed in the AFC conference. That’s a fact. However, hanging onto the AFC’s No. 1 seed for the remainder of the 2024 NFL season just became a much more difficult task.
AFC Playoff Picture: Chiefs remain the No. 1 seed even after the loss
- Chiefs (9-1)
- Bills (9-2)
- Steelers (8-2)
- Texans (6-4)*
- Chargers (6-3)*
- Ravens (7-2)
- Broncos (6-5)
*Texans: Still the No. 4 seed no matter the results of MNF
*Chargers: Pending results of Sunday Night Football. If the Bengals win, Los Angeles drops to the No. 6 seed and the Ravens move up to the No. 5 seed.
Losing in Week 11 means Buffalo is just a half-game back of Kansas City. Had the Chiefs won the game, they’d virtually be four games up on the No. 1 seed. ESPN Analytics gave the Chiefs a 92% chance of getting the AFC’s No. 1 playoff seed with a win, but with the Week 11 loss, they’re not down to a 53% chance of earning the AFC’s No. 1 seed.
The Chiefs’ remaining schedule might not be the toughest in the league, but it’s not a cakewalk either. . .
What will be the toughest part of the Chiefs’ remaining schedule?
With seven games remaining, the Chiefs don’t have the toughest road, especially in the immediate future. Where it’s going to get dicey is the stretch from Week 15 through Week 17. The team plays three games over 10 days, including two against teams in the AFC playoff race (Texans and Steelers).
- Week 12: @ Carolina Panthers – Sunday, Nov. 24 at Noon CT on CBS
- Week 13: Las Vegas Raiders (Black Friday) – Friday, Nov. 29 at 2:00 p.m. CT on Prime Video
- 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
Compare this to the Bills’ schedule and you’ll see why it demands some perfection down the stretch.
- Week 12: BYE WEEK
- Week 13: vs San Francisco 49ers (Sunday, Dec. 1, 8:20 p.m. ET)*
- 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)
Kansas City will play four playoff teams (Chargers, Texans, Steelers, Broncos) in the same stretch where Buffalo will play a single playoff team (Lions). The result of this Week 11 game was massive for the No. 1 seed, but Kansas City might be unable to rest their starters in Week 18 in Denver to keep control of the No. 1 seed and a first-round bye.
