Times are changing for the Chiefs. When they lost to the Chargers, 16-13, they were eliminated from the playoffs. That ended their string of 10 consecutive playoff seasons and also ended their string of seven straight appearances in the AFC title game.
And after appearing in five Super Bowls and winning three of them, they won’t be going for a fourth this year. On top of that, they lost Patrick Mahomes with a torn ACL late in the game.
Now the question is whether he will be ready to start the beginning of next year and whether he will lose any of the mobility that helped make him such a good quarterback. The irony is Tom Brady suffered a torn ACL after winning three Super Bowls at the same stage of his career. He did it in the 2008 opener so he was ready to start the 2009 season although he didn’t return to the Super Bowl until 2011.
Meanwhile, the Chiefs have to get Mahomes a better supporting cast. With Travis Kelce probably retiring, they need a tight end plus a true No. 1 receiver and upgrade the offensive line if they are to start another run. Gardner Minshew will finish the season at quarterback and they have to decide if he is an adequate backup or they also need to look for one who can start the season if Mahomes isn’t ready. And with Chris Jones showing his age, they need another dominant lineman.
This will be a test for the Chiefs to show they can reload without needing a rebuilding job.
–Now that the Chiefs won’t be in the race to the Super Bowl, the question is which teams will be. The Broncos are currently the top seed in the AFC with a 12-2 record and have clinched a playoff spot. The New England Patriots remained the second seed at 10-3 even though they couldn’t hold a 21-0 lead and lost to the Bills, who are currently the sixth seed at 10-3. It will be difficult, though, for the Bills to overtake the Patriots with just three games left.
The Jaguars are the third seed at 10-4 after routing Jets. But if they lose at Denver this weekend and the Texans win their last three, the Texans will be the division winner and the Jaguars will be a wild card team.
The Steelers are the fourth seed after beating Miami 28-15 Monday night to go to 8-6. The are a game ahead of the Ravens and play them in the season finale. The Ravens blanked the Bengals. The 10-4 Chargers are the fifth seed after beating the Chiefs and the 9-5 Texans are the seventh seed after routing the Cardinals.
–In the NFC, the Rams are the top seed at 11-3 after beating the Lions, while the 10-4 Bears jumped into the second seed by routing the Browns 31-3 and the 9-5 Eagles are the third seed after blanking the Raiders 31-0. The Bucs lost to the Falcons 29-28 and are the fourth seed at 7-7. The Seattle Seahawks are the fifth seed at 11-3 after beating the Colts, 18-16. The 10-4 49ers are the sixth seed after beating the Titans 37-24 and the Packers are the seventh seed at 9-4-1after losing to the Broncos.
–Seattle got the victory but the Colts showed they made the right move in signing Philip Rivers at age 44. Playing for the first time in five years, he had the Colts in the lead with 47 seconds left before the Seahawks won it with a field goal with 18 seconds left.
–Miami was eliminated from the playoffs Monday night. The other AFC teams eliminated are the Chiefs, Bengals, Jets, Browns, Raiders and Titans. The NFC teams eliminated are the Commanders, Giants, Vikings, Falcons, Saints and Cardinals.
VITO'S VIEWS 