I think our pal HisDirkness was listening to me on 610 Sports on Thursday. I was on with Carrington Harrison and Sean Levine (who was in for Danny Parkins) and we talked about what every Chiefs fan is talking about right now: NFL playoff scenarios.
The Chiefs could be the No. 2, 5 or 6 seed. If you ask anyone, they would want to be the No. 2 seed with the first round bye and a home game. That’s what I would pick too.
However, His Dirkness recalled one of the scenarios we talked about on the show.
Easier path to AFC Championship?
— His Dirknes$ (@HisDirknesS) December 30, 2016
Let’s say the Raiders beat the Broncos this weekend and the Patriots lose to the Dolphins. The Raiders are the No. 1 seed while the Patriots are the No. 2 and the Chiefs are the No. 5 seed. The Chiefs would play at Houston on Wild Card weekend. They might even be favored in that game. If the Chiefs won in Houston and if No. 3 seed Pittsburgh won, the Chiefs would go on the road to the Derek Carr-less Oakland Raiders for the Divisional round. Without Carr, the Chiefs might be favored there too. If the Chiefs win that, they’re in the AFC Championship game.
The other scenario is the one I presume most want - get the No. 2 seed and a first round bye. If that happens, it’s a decent bet that the Chiefs would host the Steelers in the Divisional round. Pittsburgh will be a favorite over the sixth seed (Miami) the week prior. The Chiefs would have to beat Pittsburgh at Arrowhead to advance to the AFC Championship game.
Again, I think everyone takes the home game if they can get it. But this is a hypothetical, which path to the AFC Championship game is actually easier? The Chiefs would be playing two inferior teams to Pittsburgh in the first scenario but it would still be two road games. The second scenario would be just one game but against a better opponent.