Arrowhead Pride
Let’s see how the Chiefs’ postseason possibilities line up following Week 9’s NFL action.
The Kansas City Chiefs now stand 8-0 after notching a 30-24 overtime win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Nine weeks remain in the 2024 NFL season, in which Kansas City will play the Denver Broncos on GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium, go on the road to play the Buffalo Bills and Carolina Panthers, return home for their second division games versus the Las Vegas Raiders and Los Angeles Chargers, play the Cleveland Browns in Ohio, face the Houston Texans at home and finish the season on the road against the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Broncos.
And yes... it’s normally a week or two later in the season before we begin this series of articles. But that’s what happens when Kansas City is the league’s only undefeated team — and the two AFC teams behind the Chiefs each have two losses.
Let’s take a look at the team’s current playoff picture. As we always do, we’ll use the New York Times playoff calculator to help us figure out what to expect. More details about how it works are included at the end of the article.
As it stands right now the Kansas City has a greater than 99% chance to make the playoffs, a 97% chance to win the AFC West, an 82% chance to win the single AFC bye and a 19% chance to win Super Bowl LIX. No other team currently has a better chance to win the championship — and no other AFC team even has a double-digit chance. The other teams with the best chances to win the Super Bowl are both in the NFC: the Detroit Lions (16%) and the Philadelphia Eagles (14%).
The playoff calculator allows us to assume the outcome of any remaining games and then see how it changes things. For now, we’re mostly going to concentrate on what is in the team’s control. It’s just too early in the season to be considering more complicated scenarios.
Right now, it couldn’t be easier: by defeating the Denver Broncos at Arrowhead on Sunday, Kansas City should be locked into its 10th consecutive playoff spot. That’s it — at least according to the Times, which the only longstanding publication that has opened its annual playoff calculator.
If they win the next five games (the last of those against the Chargers) — the Chiefs will win their ninth consecutive division title, which guarantees at least one postseason home game. Winning the next three games would almost clinch the division — as long as the Chargers also lost their games to the Tennessee Titans.
Kansas City will clinch the AFC’s top seed by winning the next seven games, which would give it a 15-0 record as it heads into the Christmas Day...
