Travis Kelce didn’t hide his frustration after the Kansas City Chiefs lost to the Buffalo Bills. The tight end said on his New Heights podcast that the margin for error is gone after a 5-4 start to the season.
“It’s frustrating, man. I mean, 5-4, a little over .500, out of the playoffs if the playoffs started right now. We got to get this thing going. The schedule doesn’t get much easier. Our next three opponents are absolutely on fire. We got to get things rolling. We got banged up on the offensive line and this and that, but, at the same time, we got the players that we need. Even if it’s the next man up mentality, we still got the guys that can get the job done. We just have to figure it out.”
After their bye week, the Chiefs will face the Denver Broncos and the Indianapolis Colts, two of the top teams in the AFC. Although they currently sit in third place in their division, Andy Reid’s team remains the Super Bowl favorite among oddsmakers.
Are the Chiefs out of the playoffs?
Yes. The Chiefs are currently out of the playoffs with a 5-4 record. In the AFC standings, Kansas City is the 8th seed, chasing the Chargers (6-3) and the Jaguars (5-3) for a Wild Card spot.
Although there’s still a long way to go, it’s important to note that the Chiefs don’t hold the tiebreaker over Los Angeles or Jacksonville, as they lost their head-to-head matchups against both teams. In the Chargers’ case, they can still split the season series since there’s one game left at Arrowhead Stadium.
One piece of good news for the Chiefs is that they still control their own destiny when it comes to the Denver Broncos, as they are two games behind with both matchups against Sean Payton’s team still to be played this season.
Will the Chiefs have home field advantage in the playoffs?
The Chiefs don’t seem likely to have home-field advantage in the playoffs, as their position in the standings is quite complicated. They can close the gap with the Colts (7-2) if they beat them in Week 12, but they still have teams like the Bills (7-2), the Broncos (7-2), and the Pittsburgh Steelers (5-3) ahead of them.
Moreover, if the Bills manage to win their division, the loss at Highmark Stadium is another tiebreaker the Chiefs no longer have in their favor. That’s why everything is an uphill battle. First, they need to climb back in their division against the Broncos and Chargers, and then try to catch up to the Colts, Patriots, or Bills.