Did the Chiefs dynasty end or was it only paused when they fell to 6-7 with the loss to the Houston Texans?
That is the key question after their shaky showing against Houston as they dropped six passes and Patrick Mahomes had a career-low 19.8 quarterback rating. They also converted on only 4 of 14 third downs.
The most telling moment came when a pass bounced off Travis Kelce’s hands, went up in the air and was intercepted. It wasn’t Mahomes’ fault, but it was one of his three picks. The Chiefs’ streak of winning AFC West Division titles is over and they now face long odds to even make the playoffs. The Chiefs obviously have to put a better team around Mahomes next year if they are to resume their dynasty. And they are likely going to have to do it without Kelce, who figures to retire.
—Now that the Chiefs are no longer ruling the AFC, the question is which team will replace them.
Denver beat the Raiders 24-17 to boost its record to 11-2 with their 10th straight victory to take the top seed with the tiebreak over New England, which is also 11-2 and had a bye last week.
The surprising Jaguars boosted their record to 9-4 while routing the Colts, who dropped to 8-5 and lost Daniel Jones with an Achilles injury.
The Colts, who started off 7-1, dropped to the eighth seed and will likely miss the playoffs. They are so desperate they worked out Philip Rivers and signed him to the practice squad even though he is 44 and last played for the Colts in 2020. The Jaguars lead the AFC South and are the third seed.
The Steelers beat the Ravens and lead the AFC North with a 7-6 mark and are the fourth seed. The three current wild card teams are the Chargers, who are 9-4 after beating the Eagles, the 8-4 Bills who beat the Bengals and the Texans, who are 8-5 and can beat out the Jaguars for the division titlte if they win out and the
–The Rams beat Arizona to retain the lead in the NFC West and the top seed in the conference at 10-3. The Packers jumped to the second seed and the NFC North lead by boosting their record to 9-3-1 with the win over the Bears, who are now 9-4 and dropped from the first to the seventh seed. The Eagles lost in overtime to the Chargers but remained the third seed and the NFC East leader at 8-5. The Bucs lost to New Orleans, but remained the NFC South lead at 7-6 and the fourth seed. The three wild card teams are the 10-3 Seahawks who beat the Falcons, the 9-4 49ers who had a bye and the Bears.
–The Titans’ surprising victory over the Browns gave them a 2-11 mark and they are one of the three teams fighting for the top pick along with the Giants and Raiders. The Titans had been the only one win team and could have clinched the top spot by losing out.
–There are nine teams that are officially eliminated from the playoffs. Besides the Raiders and Titans, the other two AFC teams that are out are the Jets and Browns, who are both 3-10. The other four NFC teams eliminated besides the Giants are 4-9 Atlanta and three 3-10 teams – Arizona, New Orleans and Washington. The 4-9 Bengals and 5-8 Minnesota aren’t officially out but are the longest of long shots.
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