Chiefs Likely Have To Win Out To Sneak Into Playoffs

The Kansas City Chiefs haven’t been in this much trouble since before the Patrick Mahomes era.

At 6-6, the Chiefs are currently the ninth seed in the American Football Conference playoff picture and are in real danger of missing the playoffs for the first time with Mahomes under center.

A reconfigured offensive line (that has dealt and is dealing with injuries), lack of efficient run game and penalties have cost the Chiefs their normal productive season.

“Following Thursday's game, the Chiefs get nine days to rest and recover for their final push,” ESPN’s Nate Taylor wrote Friday. “But one troubling trend is that Mahomes finished the game without three of his starting linemen -- right guard Trey Smith (right ankle), right tackle Jawaan Taylor (elbow) and rookie left tackle Josh Simmons (left wrist). If the Chiefs want any chance to make the playoffs, Mahomes will likely need his best linemen to return sooner rather than later.”

Kansas City is just 1-6 in one-score games this season after losing 31-28 to the Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving, another alarming sign that the Chiefs just might not have it in them this year.

At this point, it seems like the Chiefs will have to win out in order to sneak into the postseason. Kansas City only has two easily winnable matchups against the Tennessee Titans in Week 16 and Las Vegas Raiders in Week 18, the rest are against teams higher in the standings including the other two divisional foes, the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 15 and Denver Broncos in Week 17.

Taylor believes there is no margin for error moving forward.

“Here's the mission, should the Chiefs choose to accept it: Win the final five games of the regular season. That is likely what's required for them to reach the postseason, perhaps as the seventh and final seed,” Taylor explained. “All five games will be against AFC opponents, too, so every game from this point is essentially a play-in game for coach Andy Reid and Mahomes. In his first NFL start in AT&T Stadium, a little more than 100 miles from his hometown of Tyler, Texas, Mahomes threw four touchdown passes and used his legs to escape the pocket. The issue is that the Chiefs' defense never sacked Prescott and couldn't effectively cover his two best receivers, CeeDee Lamb and Pickens.”

Mahomes spoke about the team’s urgency following the game, noting that they must hope that winning out is enough to make it in.

“You've got to win every game now -- and hope that's enough,” Mahomes spoke. “We're going to play a lot of good teams coming up. If we're going to make the playoffs, we're going to have to win them all. That's got to be the mindset when we step into the [training facility] when we get back.”

The Chiefs will host the eighth-seeded Houston Texans in Week 14.