The Kansas City Chiefs didn’t lose this season until November 17. And that one loss put them back in a three-way race for the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoffs.
The Buffalo Bills and Pittsburgh Steelers have suffered just two losses each, one behind Kansas City, with Buffalo winning the head-to-head tiebreaker. Buffalo and Pittsburgh also have arguably easier paths than Kansas City the rest of the way.
Kansas City has four games remaining against teams that are .500 or better (Steelers, Chargers, Texans, Broncos). The Bills have three (Lions, 49ers, Rams), as do the Steelers (Chiefs, Eagles, Ravens). According to Tankathon, the Bills have the weakest remaining schedule of the three, with their opponents sporting a .444 winning percentage after Sunday’s games. The Steelers have the hardest time at .493 and the Chiefs are in the middle at .477. A game on Christmas Day, when the Chiefs play at the Steelers, could be a big factor in determining the AFC’s bye and home field advantage during the playoffs.
The Chiefs are still the favorite to be the No. 1 seed, and they proved last season they can win a Super Bowl without the bye, but their chances are higher after the Bills were able to beat them on Sunday. How it plays out could ultimately determine whether the Chiefs can win a third straight Super Bowl.
Here are the power rankings after Week 11 of the NFL season:
