{"id":332626,"date":"2025-12-08T15:41:07","date_gmt":"2025-12-08T15:41:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/332626\/"},"modified":"2025-12-08T15:41:07","modified_gmt":"2025-12-08T15:41:07","slug":"chiefs-on-brink-of-elimination-after-loss","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/332626\/","title":{"rendered":"Chiefs on brink of elimination after loss"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"play\"<\/p>\n

NFL Overreactions: Daniel Jones tears Achilles, Texans beat Chiefs<\/p>\n

USA TODAY Sports’ Prince Grimes ‘overreacts’ to some of the best games from Sunday’s Week 14 slate.<\/p>\n

Every week for the duration of the\u00a02025 regular season<\/a>,\u00a0USA TODAY Sports<\/a>\u00a0will provide timely updates to the\u00a0NFL<\/a>‘s ever-evolving playoff picture \u2212 typically starting Sunday afternoon and then moving forward for the remainder of the week (through Monday’s and Thursday’s games or Saturday’s, if applicable. And, when the holidays roll around, we’ll be watching then, too).<\/p>\n

What just happened? What does it mean? What are the pertinent factors (and, perhaps, tiebreakers) prominently in play as each conference’s seven-team bracket begins to crystallize? All will be explained and analyzed up to the point when the postseason field is finalized on Sunday, Jan. 4.<\/p>\n

Here’s where things stand with\u00a0Week 14<\/a>\u00a0nearly complete:<\/p>\n

1.\u00a0Denver Broncos<\/a>\u00a0(11-2), AFC West leaders:\u00a0They beat the Raiders<\/a> on Sunday, winning their 10th in a row, matching New England’s victory total and overtaking the Patriots for possession of the top seed by virtue of a conference record (7-2) that is a half-game better.\u00a0Remaining schedule: vs. Packers<\/a>, vs. Jaguars<\/a>, at Chiefs, vs. Chargers<\/p>\n

2.\u00a0New England Patriots<\/a>\u00a0(11-2), AFC East leaders:\u00a0The first team in the league to reach 11 wins thanks to\u00a0Monday night’s rollover of the Giants<\/a>, the Pats remain in a very tight race with Denver, the teams’ airtight tiebreakers now in effect with the Broncos<\/a> playing their 13th game Sunday.\u00a0Remaining schedule: vs. Bills<\/a>, at Ravens<\/a>, at Jets, vs. Dolphins<\/a><\/p>\n

3.\u00a0Jacksonville Jaguars<\/a>\u00a0(9-4),\u00a0AFC South leaders:\u00a0They claimed first place outright by smashing the depleted Colts<\/a> on Sunday in Duval County. Remaining schedule: vs. Jets, at Broncos, vs. Colts, at Titans<\/p>\n

4.\u00a0Pittsburgh Steelers<\/a>\u00a0(7-6),\u00a0AFC North leaders:\u00a0They jumped up nine spots, from out of the field back into the division lead by winning at Baltimore on Sunday. Remaining schedule: vs. Dolphins, at Lions<\/a>, at Browns<\/a>, vs. Ravens<\/p>\n

5.\u00a0Buffalo Bills<\/a>\u00a0(9-4), wild card No. 1:\u00a0Massive win over Cincinnati solidifies their playoff standing heading into a notable showdown at Foxborough in Week 15 to face the AFC East-leading Pats.\u00a0Remaining schedule: at Patriots, at Browns, vs. Eagles<\/a>, vs. Jets<\/p>\n

6.\u00a0Los Angeles Chargers<\/a>\u00a0(8-4), wild card No. 2:\u00a0Facing the NFC’s Eagles on Monday night basically won’t serve them well in tiebreaker department even if Bolts win.\u00a0Remaining schedule: vs. Eagles, at Chiefs, at Cowboys, vs. Texans<\/a>, at Broncos<\/p>\n

7.\u00a0Houston Texans<\/a>\u00a0(8-5), wild card No. 3:\u00a0They’ve won six of seven, including five in a row. Beating the Chiefs at Arrowhead moved Houston into a wild-card slot by virtue of their Week 13 defeat of Indianapolis.\u00a0Remaining schedule: vs. Cardinals<\/a>, vs. Raiders, at Chargers, vs. Colts<\/p>\n

8.\u00a0Indianapolis Colts<\/a>\u00a0(8-5),\u00a0in the hunt:\u00a0They’ve dropped four of their past five and lost QB Daniel Jones to an Achilles injury<\/a> Sunday in Jacksonville. Houston’s win Sunday night dropped Indy from the projected field entirely. And the schedule doesn’t let up the rest of the way.\u00a0Remaining schedule: at Seahawks<\/a>, vs. 49ers, vs. Jaguars, at Texans<\/p>\n

9.\u00a0Baltimore Ravens<\/a>\u00a0(6-7),\u00a0in the hunt:\u00a0Consecutive losses \u2212 and to AFC North foes (Bengals<\/a>, Steelers) \u2212 has them on the outside looking in. A 4-5 record in AFC games places them ahead of K.C. and Miami. Remaining schedule: at Bengals, vs. Patriots, at Packers, at Steelers<\/p>\n

10.\u00a0Kansas City Chiefs<\/a>\u00a0(6-7), in the hunt:\u00a0Their chances to win a 10th straight AFC West title are officially null and void. And Sunday night’s loss to Houston means they’ll likely miss the postseason for the first time since 2014 \u2212 Andy Reid’s second year in K.C. And don’t forget they’ve lost to the Broncos, Chargers, Bills, Texans and Jags, who are all ahead of them. Remaining schedule: vs. Chargers, at Titans, vs. Broncos, at Raiders<\/p>\n

11.\u00a0Miami Dolphins<\/a>\u00a0(6-7), in the hunt:\u00a0They probably need to win the remainder of their games to even have a shot at postseason qualification but notched another one Sunday in New York.\u00a0Remaining schedule: at Steelers, vs. Bengals, vs. Buccaneers<\/a>, at Patriots<\/p>\n

12.\u00a0Cincinnati Bengals<\/a>\u00a0(4-9), in the hunt:\u00a0They basically need to win the remainder of their games to even have a shot at postseason qualification … though they probably have a better one than Miami by virtue of living in this year’s surprisingly subpar AFC North.\u00a0Remaining schedule: vs. Ravens, at Dolphins, vs. Cardinals, vs. Browns<\/p>\n

1.\u00a0Los Angeles Rams<\/a>\u00a0(10-3), NFC West leaders:\u00a0They regained the inside track for home-field advantage and a first-round bye by demolishing the Cardinals and benefiting from Chicago’s loss to Green Bay. The Rams’ Week 11 defeat of Seattle remains pivotal. Remaining schedule: vs. Lions, at Seahawks, at Falcons, vs. Cardinals<\/p>\n

2.\u00a0Green Bay Packers<\/a>\u00a0(9-3-1),\u00a0NFC North leaders:\u00a0They got the best of the archrival Bears<\/a>, consequential win that put the Pack back on top of the division and just a half-game off the conference pace.\u00a0Remaining schedule: at Broncos, at Bears, vs. Ravens, at Vikings<\/p>\n

3.\u00a0Philadelphia Eagles<\/a>\u00a0(8-4), NFC East leaders:\u00a0Two losses in a row not only\u00a0mean a lot more scrutiny<\/a>\u00a0but \u2212 beware \u2212 a team that could still fall into the Cowboys’ clutches in the division if it’s not careful. Remaining schedule: at Chargers, vs. Raiders, at Commanders<\/a>, at Bills, vs. Commanders<\/p>\n

4.\u00a0Tampa Bay Buccaneers<\/a>\u00a0(7-6), NFC South leaders:\u00a0They remain in first place despite a damaging loss to New Orleans. The Bucs currently have a one-game lead over Carolina in the common-games tiebreaker department.\u00a0Remaining schedule: vs. Falcons, at Panthers<\/a>, at Dolphins, vs. Panthers<\/p>\n

5.\u00a0Seattle Seahawks<\/a>\u00a0(10-3),\u00a0wild card No. 1:\u00a0Sunday’s rout of Falcons moved them atop the conference … for a few hours. But the Rams’ win at Arizona pushed Seattle back to the wild-card echelon. All three of the ‘Hawks’ losses are against NFC opponents, including two in the division \u2212 defeats that don’t serve them well in the tiebreaker department. Remaining schedule: vs. Colts, vs. Rams, at Panthers, at 49ers<\/p>\n

6.\u00a0San Francisco 49ers<\/a>\u00a0(9-4), wild card No. 2:\u00a0They’re in a precarious spot given their pursuers, yet are just behind the Rams and Seahawks for the NFC West lead. Off this weekend, the Niners were in no danger of vacating the field.\u00a0Remaining schedule: vs. Titans, at Colts, vs. Bears, vs. Seahawks<\/p>\n

7.\u00a0Chicago Bears<\/a>\u00a0(9-4), wild card No. 3:\u00a0How tightly packed is the NFC? One narrow loss dropped the Bears from first place in the conference to seventh, just a game ahead of the division rival Lions.\u00a0Remaining schedule: vs. Browns, vs. Packers, at 49ers, vs. Lions<\/p>\n

8.\u00a0Detroit Lions<\/a>\u00a0(8-5),\u00a0in the hunt:\u00a0Huge win over Dallas on Thursday night<\/a>. It brought the Lions within a game of the NFC’s final wild card and helped them in the division standings given Chicago’s Sunday reversal.\u00a0Remaining schedule: at Rams, vs. Steelers, at Vikings, at Bears<\/p>\n

9.\u00a0Carolina Panthers<\/a>\u00a0(7-6), in the hunt:\u00a0Though Carolina is off this week, the Panthers basically pulled even atop the NFC South.\u00a0Remaining schedule: at Saints, vs. Buccaneers, vs. Seahawks, at Buccaneers<\/p>\n

10.\u00a0Dallas Cowboys<\/a>\u00a0(6-6-1), in the hunt:\u00a0Crippling loss Thursday in Motown<\/a>. Dallas’ best bet now is probably to hope the Eagles continue to struggle and leave the NFC East in play.\u00a0Remaining schedule: vs. Vikings, vs. Chargers, at Commanders, at Giants<\/a><\/p>\n

\u25b6\u00a0New York Giants<\/a><\/p>\n

\u25b6\u00a0Arizona Cardinals<\/a><\/p>\n

\u25b6\u00a0New Orleans Saints<\/a><\/p>\n

\u25b6\u00a0Tennessee Titans<\/a><\/p>\n

\u25b6\u00a0Las Vegas Raiders<\/a><\/p>\n

\u25b6\u00a0Washington Commanders<\/a><\/p>\n

\u25b6\u00a0Atlanta Falcons<\/a><\/p>\n

\u25b6\u00a0New York Jets<\/a><\/p>\n

\u25b6\u00a0Cleveland Browns<\/a><\/p>\n

All NFL news on and off the field.\u00a0Sign up<\/a>\u00a0for USA TODAY’s 4th and Monday newsletter.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NFL Overreactions: Daniel Jones tears Achilles, Texans beat Chiefs USA TODAY Sports’ Prince Grimes ‘overreacts’ to some of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":332627,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[436],"tags":[58125,67944,62,159,3050,23066,5585,1745,5462,1742,12104,1442,4851,12595,13277,11442,13273,13270,1748,49,48,6396,6392,1744,6681,1735,10391,1740,4850,1724,13276,5281,5588,4219,1765,1990,1743,8823,3163,10390,8824,5596,1322,527,7668,5460,1730,68934,1321,1443,1737,1465,3844,1732,8494,1725,11286,2315,15637,2219,1458,1736,6381,6390,1720,47,13298,2349,2034,5268,1728,44,32044,19056,514,8827,1333,2042,12105,8821,1518,1747,2693,5457,3009,13280,7675,1739,5593,457,6367,82,865,6363,1320,1339,13272,1733,11285,1335,1459,3642,1758,5841],"class_list":["post-332626","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nfl","tag-afc","tag-afc-south","tag-ai","tag-american","tag-american-football","tag-american-football-conference","tag-arizona","tag-arizona-cardinals","tag-baltimore","tag-baltimore-ravens","tag-bay","tag-bears","tag-bengals","tag-bills","tag-broncos","tag-browns","tag-buccaneers","tag-buffalo","tag-buffalo-bills","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-cardinals","tag-carolina","tag-carolina-panthers","tag-chicago","tag-chicago-bears","tag-cincinnati","tag-cincinnati-bengals","tag-cleveland","tag-cleveland-browns","tag-colts","tag-commanders","tag-conference","tag-daniel","tag-daniel-jones","tag-denver","tag-denver-broncos","tag-detroit","tag-detroit-lions","tag-dolphins","tag-eagles","tag-east","tag-enabled","tag-football","tag-giants","tag-green","tag-green-bay-packers","tag-herbert","tag-highlights","tag-houston","tag-houston-texans","tag-hub","tag-indianapolis","tag-indianapolis-colts","tag-jacksonville","tag-jacksonville-jaguars","tag-jaguars","tag-jones","tag-justin","tag-justin-herbert","tag-las","tag-las-vegas-raiders","tag-lions","tag-miami","tag-miami-dolphins","tag-national","tag-national-football-conference","tag-national-sports","tag-neutral","tag-new","tag-new-york-giants","tag-news","tag-nfc","tag-nfc-east","tag-nfl","tag-nfl-hub","tag-overall","tag-overall-neutral","tag-packers","tag-panthers","tag-philadelphia","tag-philadelphia-eagles","tag-raiders","tag-ravens","tag-scores","tag-seahawks","tag-seattle","tag-seattle-seahawks","tag-south","tag-sport","tag-sport-scores-u0026-statistics","tag-sports","tag-sports-news","tag-statistics","tag-story","tag-story-highlights-ai-enabled","tag-tampa","tag-tampa-bay-buccaneers","tag-texans","tag-u0026","tag-vegas","tag-washington","tag-washington-commanders","tag-york"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/332626","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=332626"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/332626\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/332627"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=332626"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=332626"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=332626"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}