The Kansas City Chiefs are watching the wild-card round of the 2023 NFL playoffs from home, waiting to see which team they will play next. The No. 1 seed in the AFC has four possible opponents for its divisional round matchup.
It’ll be the Jacksonville Jaguars, Los Angeles Chargers, Baltimore Ravens or Miami Dolphins visiting Kansas City in the next round of the playoffs. The results of Saturday’s and Sunday’s wild-card games will ultimately determine the Chiefs’ next opponent.
The list of possible Kansas City opponents will be cut to three teams Saturday night when the Jaguars host the Chargers. The loser will be eliminated and the winner will advance to the divisional round, where a matchup at Arrowhead Stadium could await.
If the Dolphins upset the Buffalo Bills on Sunday afternoon, Miami will play Kansas City next. However, it would be stunning for the Dolphins to survive Wild-Card Weekend. With third-string quarterback Skylar Thompson expected to start, Miami is a two-touchdown underdog in Buffalo and considered the most unlikely winner in the wild-card round.
If the Dolphins lose, the Sunday night matchup between the Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals will ultimately determine Kansas City’s opponent. In that scenario, a Baltimore victory would pit the Ravens against the Chiefs in the divisional round. Losses for both the Dolphins and the Ravens would mean that Saturday’s winner in Jacksonville will travel to Kansas City for a playoff game next week.
The Chiefs went 3-0 against the Chargers and Jaguars in the regular season. Both of Kansas City’s matchups with Los Angeles were decided by three points. Kansas City beat Jacksonville 27-17 at Arrowhead Stadium in Week 10. The Chiefs dominated the contest, leading by at least two scores for the final 39 minutes and 55 seconds of game time. The Jaguars have won five of their last six since that defeat.
Neither the Dolphins nor the Ravens played the Chiefs in the regular season.
Kansas City can’t face Cincinnati or Buffalo until the AFC Championship Game. If the Chiefs and Bills are the last two teams standing in the conference, they will meet at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line.
The Chiefs earned the No. 1 seed in the conference by going 14-3 and finishing a half-game ahead of the Bills. Buffalo’s Week 17 game with Cincinnati was stopped in the first quarter when Damar Hamlin suffered cardiac arrest on the field. The game was ruled a no contest. Had the Bills beaten the Bengals, Buffalo would’ve been awarded the top seed and home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs.
Seven straight division titles gives Kansas City the longest active streak in the league. The Chiefs have made four straight trips to the AFC Championship Game, all of which have been played in Kansas City.
The Chiefs beat the Pittsburgh Steelers on Wild-Card Weekend 2022. After outlasting Buffalo in a thrilling overtime victory during the divisional round, Kansas City blew an 18-point lead against Cincinnati in the conference title game.
Patrick Mahomes is 8-3 in the playoffs and 64-16 in the regular season as the Chiefs starting quarterback.
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