<Avatar: The Way Of Water Box Office Day 11 (Early Trends): Trending Like The Sequel Of The #1 Movie Of The World Should Do!Chiefs>
Chiefs top Raiders in finale, clinch top seed, bye in AFC.
LAS VEGAS — Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones finished his regular season with a flourish. He sacked Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Jarrett Stidham 2.5 times Saturday night, giving him 15.5 for the season, which should put him in the top five when all teams are done for the year.
However, that’s not what brought a smile to Jones’ face after the Chiefs secured the AFC’s No. 1 playoff seed with a 31-13 win over the Raiders at Allegiant Stadium. It was the thought of a week off.
The No. 1-seeded Chiefs (14-3) will be the AFC’s only team to get the first-round bye. TheAvatar: The Way Of Water Box Office Day 11 (Early Trends): Trending Like The Sequel Of The #1 Movie Of The World Should Do!Avatar: The Way Of Water Box Office Day 11 (Early Trends): Trending Like The Sequel Of The #1 Movie Of The World Should Do!y will begin their postseason with a divisional round game in two weeks at Arrowhead Stadium. Home-field advantage for the AFC Championship Game should they advance that far is not guaranteed after the NFL changed some of its playoff seeding rules in the wake of Monday’s canceled Buffalo Bills–Cincinnati Bengals game.
The game under certain circumstances could be played at a neutral site. But it would be played in Kansas City if the 12-3 Bills lose Sunday to the New England Patriots, assuming the Chiefs advance.
For now, at least, the Chiefs were happy with the bye. They haven’t had a break since Week 8 of the regular season, or more than two months ago.
Coach Andy Reid said the Chiefs planned to practice some during the bye, but also have some time off.
“Just take a step back and get yourself where you feel stronger and healthier,” Reid said of what he will tell the players. “You still gotta take care of business. Our guys understand that.”
Quarterback Patrick Mahomes has never played an AFC playoff game in a stadium other than Arrowhead. All nine of his postseason games leading up to a Super Bowl have been played in Kansas City. The Chiefs are 7-2 in those games with both losses coming in overtime.
Mahomes said the Chiefs set three goals each year when they gather for the start of training camp. The first is to win the AFC West championship, which the Chiefs accomplished this year for the seventh straight season with their Week 15 win over the Houston Texans. The second is to get the AFC’s top playoff seed. The third is to win the Super Bowl.
The Chiefs’ 6-0 record against AFC West opponents this season fueled their rise to the top of the AFC. Mahomes is 27-3 against divisional rivals in his career, 16-0 on the road.
“Something that was instilled with me right when I got here is we were gonna focus on the AFC West opponents,” he said. “We believe we have one of the best divisions if not the best division in football, so we know if we can handle business in the AFC West, it’s going to put us in the position to be where we want to be at the end of the year.”
The Chiefs have advanced to the AFC Championship Game in each of the past four seasons. They are the AFC’s No. 1 seed for the third time in five years.
Sources: Bengals livid coin might take away home-
field edge
Bengals coach Zac Taylor already has voiced his opposition to the NFL’s new playoff scenarios, but many in the Cincinnati organization are livid about a decision they feel penalizes the Bengals and rewards the Ravens, per sources.
The league told Cincinnati it should be happy it has been declared the AFC North winner, but the Bengals were furious the rules were changed on the fly and their playoff path intentionally altered.
If the Bengals had beaten the Bills on Monday night in a game that was ultimately canceled after the cardiac arrest of Buffalo safety Damar Hamlin, Cincinnati might not have had anything to play for Sunday and could have opted to rest some players. Now the Bengals have to win Sunday to avoid a potential coin flip that would determine the site of next weekend’s possible wild-card game against Baltimore, and they will have to play players who otherwise might not have been out there.
The coin-flip scenario comes into play if the Ravens win Sunday in Cincinnati and the Chargers win in Denver. The Ravens and Chargers have identical records, but Los Angeles would get the No. 5 seed, while Baltimore would get a third game against Cincinnati. The reward for the No. 6 seed Ravens sweeping the Bengals, yet losing the division title, would be the coin-flip opportunity to host third-seeded Cincinnati in the playoffs. Had the Bills-Bengals game been played to completion and Buffalo won, the Week 18 game between Baltimore and Cincinnati would have been for the AFC North championship.
As a result, the Cincinnati organization feels as if the Ravens have been given enAvatar: The Way Of Water Box Office Day 11 (Early Trends): Trending Like The Sequel Of The #1 Movie Of The World Should Do!hanced opportunities that the Bengals were not and believes it has been treated unfairly by the league. Cincinnati voted against the new playoff scenario that other NFL owners approved on a Zoom call Friday. The Bengals not only voted no but also voiced their intense opposition to the league — to no avail.
Bengals executive vice president Katie Blackburn is on the competition committee, which approved the scenarios Thursday. In a memo obtained by ESPN’s Seth Wickersham, Blackburn urged teams to vote against the scenarios. Her reasoning stemmed from the timing of a rule change in this scenario away from the standard of winning percentages.
“The proper process for making rule change is in the off-season,” Blackburn wrote. “It is not appropriate to put teams in a position to vote for something that may introduce bias, favor one team over another or impact their own situation when the vote takes place immediately before the playoffs.”
There are also multiple scenarios in which the AFC Championship Game could be played on a neutral site. All three possibilities include the Chiefs and Bills, but the Bengals could factor into the equation if Kansas City and Buffalo both lose Sunday and Cincinnati wins. If Week 18’s games shake out like that, a Bills or Bengals vs. Chiefs championship game would be at a neutral site.
The Chiefs close out the regular season at Las Vegas on Saturday. The Bills make an emotional return home to host the New England Patriots on Sunday, with commissioner Roger Goodell expected to be in attendance, a source told ESPN’s Dianna Russini.
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