Arrowheadlines: Kansas City Chiefs News 12/29

What We Learned from Monday's Media Availability from The Mothership

Q: So you're trying to win this game on Sunday?

REID: "Yeah, that's what we're trying to do."

Q: You're not going to play it like you played the San Diego game a couple years ago?

REID: "I don't know all of the scenarios."

Q: You could clinch the AFC West.

REID: "Yeah, so we're going to get ourselves ready to play Oakland."

Q: So was that a yes or a no?

REID: "That's a yes as we sit here right now, yes."

Q: What would it mean to win the AFC West as opposed to being a Wild Card team?

REID: "They're all big, those are all important things. If you have an opportunity to win the AFC West, I think that's important. At the same time, it's also good to be in the playoffs, that's an important part of your goals as a National Football League team. So we have one of those taken care of, we dug ourselves a bit of a hole, so this is in other people's hands right now, I believe, from what I understand - at least for the first part of it. We'll see."

Sunday's Chiefs vs. Raiders Kickoff Time Has Changed from The Mothership

This is in part due to the fact that the Denver Broncos host the San Diego Chargers next Sunday as well, and both games need to kick off at the same time to avoid any advantage of one team over another.

The Broncos, who sit with a 10-4 record, host the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday night.

The Merger Part 1: How Lamar Hunt's Vision Changed the Landscape of American Sports from The Mothership

He had met with NFL commissioner Bert Bell repeated times and he had offered him nothing but discouragement. There would be no league expansion, indeed, the committee to entertain such matters had never met and if it had, it needed unanimous agreement from all the owners to expand.  Moreover, the league's previous foray years before into Dallas — Hunt's hometown — had been a disaster and the team gone.  Finally, no owner wished to offer Hunt any more than a minority ownership.

With one move available to him now, the young Hunt was surprisingly buoyed.  He would start a new league. Surely there were men out there like himself who would join him.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the merger of Hunt's American Football League and the National Football League, the culmination of months of negotiations between Hunt and NFL officials to end what had been a 10-year war between the two leagues.  This is how Hunt's biographer, the acclaimed writer Michael MacCambridge, portrays the moment when the young Texan reached the decision to start a new pro league.

Broncos clinch playoff with victory, but Chiefs still can win division from The Kansas City Star

Sunday, the Broncos play host to the Chargers and the Chiefs are at home against the Raiders.

The Broncos clinch at least the No. 2 seed, and a first-round bye in the playoffs, with a victory. They can even get the No. 1 seed if they win and the Patriots lose to the Dolphins.

But if Denver loses and the Chiefs win, Kansas City becomes the West champion because it will hold the tie-breaker advantage over the Broncos. The Chiefs would be the third seed.

Chiefs coach Andy Reid focused on Raiders, not AFC playoff picture from Chiefs Digest

The Chiefs (10-5) could either be a third, fifth or sixth seed depending on what happens when the dust settles in Week 17.

And while each seed offers intrigue, don't expect coach Andy Reid to pay attention to the scenarios, at least publicly.

"Don't really care about all of those," Reid told reporters Monday. "We're going to focus in on the Raiders and make sure we get ourselves ready for a good football team."

Sounds like a simple enough approach, but there remains unfinished business regardless of Reid's public stance because the Chiefs could still win the AFC West.

Will Chiefs play to beat Raiders? Andy Reid won't say for sure from ESPN

Resting players would be an odd stance this time. No matter whether the Broncos win or lose Monday night's game against the Bengals, the Chiefs will have a chance to win the division next week.

One of the perks of winning the division title is getting to play your first-round playoff game at home. The Chiefs would play on the road as a wild-card team.

"There are a bunch of scenarios out there," Reid said. "I don't really care about all of those. We're going to focus in on the Raiders and make sure we get ourselves ready (to play against) a good football team."

Chiefs' Andy Reid considering Raiders, not playoff scenarios from The Kansas City Star

The only way the Chiefs would be the sixth seed is if they lose to the Raiders and the Jets win at Buffalo on Sunday. In that scenario, the Jets would own a better record than the Chiefs.

The difference between owning a No. 3 seed and a No. 5 or 6 seed is the site. A third seed opens the postseason at home. The fifth and sixth seeds start the playoffs on the road.

Adding to the drama of the final weekend, the NFL has shifted the kickoff time of the Chiefs-Raiders game to 3:25 p.m., the same time as the Chargers-Broncos game. That way, an early outcome won't influence the later team's game plan.

Despite Denver's win, Chiefs need to go for division title on Sunday from ESPN

As slim as their chances for winning the division are, the Chiefs need to go for it.

Recently I suggested the Kansas City Chiefs would be better off as a wild-card playoff entrant as opposed to being the AFC West champion. The matchup against the AFC South champions, most likely the Houston Texans, is so appealing it is worth playing on the road as opposed to playing against a stronger opponent at Arrowhead Stadium in the first round of the playoffs.

I'm not backing off that thought now. A matchup against the Texans is still in the Chiefs' best interests.

But the Chiefs have no choice but to go for the division championship.

Moving start time of Chiefs-Raiders to 3:25 CT is great idea from ESPN

This is an inconvenience for some Chiefs fans, particularly those who travel long distances to get to Arrowhead for games. But from a competitive balance standpoint, the league got this one right.

Alex Smith's numbers show a career season for the Chiefs quarterback from Chiefs Digest

-With his 125 yards passing, Smith now has 3,330 yards passing on the season. That's a career best for him, topping his two previous seasons with the Chiefs (3,313 yards in 2013 and 3,265 yards in 2014.) It's the most yards passing  for a Chiefs quarterback since 2005 when Trent Green passed for 4,014 yards.

-He ran six times for 54 yards, and now has 437 yards on 75 carries on the season. That's the most yards rushing in a season by a Chiefs quarterback and the second most rushing attempts; Smith holds the top spot with his 76 runs in the 2013 season.

"Nobody works harder," coach Andy Reid said of Smith's ability to produce career-high numbers. "But it's the consistency of working in the same offense, doing the same things for three years. You can see the comfort he has there."

Chiefs linebackers Justin Houston, Tamba Hali remain ‘day-to-day' from Chiefs Digest

"Day-to-day situation," coach Andy Reid told reporters Monday. "We'll see how that goes. They've both been rehabbing and working hard."

Houston has missed four straight games with a hyperextended knee, while Hali was inactive after undergoing surgery to repair a broken right thumb earlier last week.

But while Houston and Hali weren't on the field, Reid was fully aware of their presence during Sunday's game.

"They were both driving me crazy on the sideline yesterday like they wanted to be in there," Reid said. "That's a good sign; they were into it."

Kansas City's not-so-crazy Super Bowl potential from ESPN

Why isn't anybody afraid of the Kansas City Chiefs?

Being hot in December doesn't promise anything in January, but the Chiefs most certainly are. Their win over the Browns on Sunday was their ninth in a row, bringing them to 10-5 after losing five of their first six games. Those victories have been by an average of 16 points, with just two -- a 10-3 win over the Chargers and yesterday's 17-13 victory over Johnny Manziel and company -- coming by seven points or fewer. This is not a well-timed series of coin-flip victories.

The Chiefs Should Terrify The AFC from Deadspin

The Chiefs' season of extremes isn't strictly down to scheduling, but it goes a long way to explaining why the team has been on such a tear lately. Going on the road to Green Bay, Minnesota, and Cincinnati in the span of four weeks is a lot tougher than hosting the Lions, Chargers, and Browns.

That said, they have been a tremendously balanced team. K.C. is in the top ten in yards allowed per pass play and run play, as well as yards per offensive play. They have the second-fewest turnovers committed and the fourth-most turnovers forced, thanks in part to Marcus Peters and his eight interceptions, the most by a rookie this decade. The Chiefs aren't as terrifying as Denver on the defensive side of the ball, but they've balanced a very good unit with a consistent, steady offense and they don't have any glaring weaknesses anymore.

Super Bowl moment No. 30: Hank Stram's famous call leads the Chiefs to the title from FOX Sports

For the first time in Super Bowl history, a head coach was wired for sound -- and it wasn't Minnesota's stone-faced Bud Grant.

Kansas City's gabby Hank Stram provided an entertaining soundtrack for a popular special later released by NFL Films.

Some of Stram's best banter came after he called "65 Toss Power Trap" against Minnesota's vaunted "Purple People Eaters" defense.

Maclin's move to Chiefs big reason they are playoff-bound from The Associated Press via FOX Sports

The 13-yard touchdown reception in the first quarter Sunday gave the Kansas City Chiefs an early lead.

But it also allowed Maclin to eclipse 1,000 yards receiving this season, a rare feat under coach Andy Reid and exactly what the franchise hoped for when they signed him as a free agent.

"It seems like every week we look back at the film and I felt like I could have gone Jeremy's way more," Smith said, "because he consistently wins. Even when they try to take him away, he consistently wins. He's that type of player."

WATCH: Ex-Eagles coach Andy Reid dabs after Kansas City Chiefs clinch playoffs from NJ.com

At 10-5, Reid can dab all the way to meaningful January football. Meanwhile in Philadelphia, it's not exactly a fun atmosphere heading into Week 17.

Look out Maksim Chmerkovskiy, Andy Reid has some moves from The Associated Press via The Centre Daily Times

Andy Reid belongs on "Dancing with the Stars."

Did you catch Reid "dabbing" after the Chiefs won their ninth straight game to clinch a playoff spot? It wasn't the first time "Big Red" celebrated a win with a victory dance. He did it earlier this month and also last season.

Several NFL stars have competed on the dance show and Emmitt Smith, Hines Ward and Donald Driver won it all. It's time for an overweight, not-so-nimble coach to show his moves.

OK, maybe not.

Reid is a big boy and far too awkward to strut his stuff for the world. That's better within the confines of a locker room.

Here are other overreactions from Week 16:

Andy Reid Trolls Cam Newton, Ruins His TD Dance for Everyone from Esquire

It came, it was cool, it was ruined by old people.

That is the life cycle of everything in 2015, and so it goes with viral rap dances.

Five Takeaways From Head Coach Jack Del Rio's Monday Press Conference from Raiders.com

Playing the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 17 presents a great opportunity for the Silver and Black.

"For us, we get a chance to play each of our division opponents one time in the last month of the season, and Kansas City is next. It's our next opportunity. I know we want to play well. For us, it's about winning. You get those opportunities to go compete and our guys have been great about remaining steadfast and continuing to work hard, believing in what we're doing here, and we're just going to keep doing it."

Bill Belichick, Jets, NFC North head key questions for Week 17 from NFL.com

3) Will the Chiefs earn a home playoff game (by winning the AFC West)?

I don't think so. But the sizzling-hot Chiefs have rolled off nine straight wins in remarkable fashion. Their rebound from 1-5 to clinching a playoff berth in Week 16 is such an amazing credit to Andy Reid's brilliant coaching and leadership, and the clutch play of guys like Alex Smith, Travis Kelce and Jeremy Maclin. Coordinator Bob Sutton has done a fantastic job with this defense, which continues to make plays even without the unit's best player (Justin Houston) on the field. The defensive backfield is great; rookie cornerback Marcus Peters has been nothing short of amazing, with an NFL-high eight interceptions on the season.

I still think Denver wins the division, but to be having this conversation in the final week of the regular season -- in a campaign where K.C. lost five of its first six games and lost Jamaal Charles in Week 5 -- is special. And don't overlook Kansas City making a playoff run in this wide-open AFC.

Let's Get Weird: Upsets And Blowouts Set Up One Wild Final Weekend For The NFL from Uproxx

When the first pictures surfaced of Andy Reid dabbing, I knew all was lost.

The Kansas City Chiefs — maybe the best NFL story it feels like nobody is talking about? — had just earned a playoff berth after winning their ninth-straight game by beating woeful Cleveland. Mind you, they started out this year 1-5, and they're now only the second team ever to start that poorly and still qualify for January. So, this is a big deal! And then, just when the world couldn't seem any more improbable, there was Reid, all clad in red and black and dabbing in the locker room. With that image cascading aimlessly around inside my noggin, nothing seems to make sense anymore and that's fine by me.

Hot Pics from Us Weekly

Paul Rudd (center) took the field at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, to hit the ceremonial war drum before the Kansas City Chiefs took on the Cleveland Browns on December 27.