AFC playoff picture: Where do Kansas City Chiefs currently sit? originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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The Kansas City Chiefs find themselves in an unfamiliar spot, as they’re on the outside looking in for the playoffs and things just got more bleak in Week 14.
The Chiefs entered the week sitting in third place in the AFC West and in the No. 10 spot in the conference playoff picture.
Of course, the four division winners and the teams with the three best records after them make the playoffs, which means there are a total of seven postseason spots.
The Chiefs moved up one spot in the conference playoff picture despite their loss to the Houston Texans on Sunday night, but their division hopes are now gone.
Here’s a look at where the Chiefs sit and in the AFC West and conference playoff picture following the loss to the Texans on Sunday night.
AFC West standings
| Rank | Team | Record |
| 1 | Denver Broncos | 11-2 |
| 2 | Los Angeles Chargers | 8-4 |
| 3 | Kansas City Chiefs | 6-7 |
| 4 | Las Vegas Raiders | 2-11 |
With the Broncos‘ win and the Chiefs’ loss, Kansas City officially no longer has a chance to win the AFC West, which will end the team’s nine-year streak.
Now, the only path to the playoffs for the Chiefs is the wild card.
AFC playoff picture
| Rank | Team | Record |
| 1 | Denver Broncos | 11-2 |
| 2 | New England Patriots | 11-2 |
| 3 | Jacksonville Jaguars | 9-4 |
| 4 | Pittsburgh Steelers | 7-6 |
| 5 | Buffalo Bills | 9-4 |
| 6 | Los Angeles Chargers | 8-4 |
| 7 | Houston Texans | 8-5 |
| 8 | Indianapolis Colts | 8-5 |
| 9 | Kansas City Chiefs | 6-7 |
| 10 | Baltimore Ravens | 6-7 |
| 11 | Miami Dolphins | 6-7 |
| 12 | Cincinnati Bengals | 4-9 |
| 13 | New York Jets | 3-10 |
| 14 | Cleveland Browns | 3-10 |
| 15 | Las Vegas Raiders | 2-11 |
| 16 | Tennessee Titans | 2-11 |
According to the NBC broadcast on Sunday night, the Chiefs are now down to a 16% chance to make the playoffs.
The Chiefs entered this week in the No. 10 spot, so they still moved up one place in the wild-card standings thanks to the Ravens‘ loss to the Steelers.
Kansas City owns the head-to-head tie-breaker over Baltimore, hence their improvement to the No. 9 position.
That said, the Chiefs now have to win out and will also need help from the teams in front of them via losses. There’s no doubt things are looking very bleak for the reigning AFC champions.
Meanwhile, the Texans move ahead of the Colts to the No. 7 spot in the AFC playoff picture thanks to the head-to-head tie-breaker.
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