Four weeks into the season, the AFC standings already have a familiar name sitting on top: the Kansas City Chiefs.
Kansas City is 4-0 heading into its early bye week, a start that leaves the Chiefs alone as the conference’s top seed if the postseason were to begin right now. They’ve cleared the first month without a loss, and now they get a week to reset before the schedule starts stacking up again.
The current AFC playoff field would look like this after Week 4: the Chiefs at No. 1, followed by the Jacksonville Jaguars, Buffalo Bills, Cleveland Browns, Baltimore Ravens, and Las Vegas Raiders. The New England Patriots would hold the final spot, with the Denver Broncos just outside the bracket at No.
- The Pittsburgh Steelers, Indianapolis Colts, Cincinnati Bengals, New York Jets, Miami Dolphins, Los Angeles Chargers, Tennessee Titans, and Houston Texans would round out the rest of the conference.
If the bracket were locked in today, Kansas City would sit out the wild card round. Jacksonville would host New England, Buffalo would get Las Vegas, and Cleveland would take on Baltimore in a division matchup. Denver, meanwhile, would be left out.
It’s still very early, of course, and the standings are far from settled. But the first month has already shown just how cleanly the Chiefs have started. They’re back where they want to be: on top of the AFC.
There are a few teams in the current picture that feel likely to slide. Cleveland sitting first in the AFC North would be a surprise if it lasted, and Las Vegas may have a tougher road ahead as its schedule gets more demanding. The Browns and Raiders have both gotten out to strong starts, but the next few weeks will tell a lot more.
The playoff probabilities underline that point. Kansas City is listed at 91%.
In the AFC West, the Raiders are at 43%, the Broncos at 63%, and the Chargers at 6%. That’s an eye-catching gap, especially with Las Vegas ahead in the standings but Denver carrying the stronger percentage.
Once the Chiefs come back from the bye, the next four games will test them in different ways. They’ll face the Chargers and Jets at home, then head to Seattle and Denver for two road games that should bring a different level of difficulty.
The home game against Los Angeles may look manageable on paper, but division games never come gift-wrapped, even with the Chargers still winless. Kansas City also gets that matchup coming out of the bye, and Andy Reid’s record off a bye is always part of the conversation.
Seattle and Denver present their own challenges. The Seahawks are the reigning Super Bowl champs, and the Broncos will have every reason to push hard for a climb in the standings. The Jets, meanwhile, have been competitive even if the results haven’t followed.
So the Chiefs enter the break in perfect shape, but the next stretch won’t let them coast.
In Other News...
Chiefs Suddenly Have A WR Problem They Couldnt Afford
The Chiefs were already navigating their share of offensive questions when Sundays game against the Raiders turned into a deeper problem at wide receiver. Rashee Rice left earlier with a hamstring injury, then Tyquan Thornton went down late in the fourth quarter after hauling in a significant catch, adding another hit to a passing game that could ill afford it.
Thornton was carted off the field with what looked like a severe ankle injury and is expected to miss time, which leaves Kansas City even thinner at a spot where reliability matters every week. With Rice also sidelined, the Chiefs now have to piece together production from the rest of the receiving group and hope the damage does not linger into the next stretch of the schedule. [Read more 🡒]
Chiefs Fans Have Every Right To Question This Mike Caliendo Decision
The Chiefs Week 4 win over the Raiders came with an offensive line adjustment that raised eyebrows before and after the final whistle. Kansas City replaced starting left guard Kingsley Suamataia with veteran Mike Caliendo, and Andy Reid confirmed afterward that it was a coaching decision without offering much beyond that, calling it a private matter between him and Suamataia.
The move matters because left guard is one of the spots Kansas City can least afford to leave unsettled, especially with depth concerns already hanging over the line. Even with the offense getting the result it needed and the Chiefs still unbeaten, the decision left a familiar question lingering in the background: whether this was a one-game tweak or the start of something more significant. [Read more 🡒]
Raiders Halftime Confidence Just Turned Into More Chiefs Humiliation
Brittany Mahomes was at Allegiant Stadium for the Chiefs matchup with the Raiders and had a front-row view of a familiar AFC West script: Kansas City finding a way to win again. After the Chiefs erased the gap and pulled out a 31-27 victory, Mahomes took to Instagram and poked fun at Raiders head coach Klint Kubiaks halftime confidence, turning a tense divisional game into another piece of Chiefs bragging rights.
The win pushed Kansas City to 4-0 in the regular season and kept the Chiefs in their usual early-season stride, even as the game came with a costly concern elsewhere. Receiver Tyquan Thornton suffered a significant injury, leaving the Chiefs with more to monitor beyond the record and the postgame chatter. [Read more 🡒]