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1. Kansas City Chiefs (8-0)
3. Pittsburgh Steelers (6-2)
5. Baltimore Ravens (7-3)
6. Los Angeles Chargers (5-3)
8. Indianapolis Colts (4-5)
9. Cincinnati Bengals (4-6)
11. Tennessee Titans (2-6)
13. Cleveland Browns (2-7)
14. Jacksonville Jaguars (2-7)
15. Las Vegas Raiders (2-7)
16. New England Patriots (2-7)
Italics: Currently in wild card playoff position.
1. Kansas City Chiefs (bye through Wild Card round).
7. Denver Broncos at 2. Buffalo Bills
6. Los Angeles Chargers at 3. Pittsburgh Steelers
5. Baltimore Ravens at 4. Houston Texans
Can Any Team Catch the Chiefs?
It hasn’t always been pretty, but the 8-0 Chiefs, with an average 7.0-point margin of victory, lead the AFC. The offense has sputtered at times, but the defense has been fantastic, holding opponents to the fourth-lowest points-per-game mark in the league.
The remaining schedule is a mixed bag. On the bright side, three games against two-win teams are on the horizon (at Carolina Panthers, vs. Las Vegas Raiders, at Cleveland Browns).
On the flip side, every other game is against a team with a winning record. The toughest one is a road matchup with the 7-2 Buffalo Bills on Sunday, Nov. 17.
The Chiefs then also have two games against current division leaders within four days, as Kansas City hosts the Houston Texans on Saturday, Dec. 21 before visiting the Pittsburgh Steelers on Christmas Day.
That isn’t easy for any team, even the undefeated back-to-back Super Bowl champions.
The Bills, seemingly, have the best chance to dethrone the Chiefs from the top of the AFC. The problem is that Buffalo has a brutal four-game stretch ahead: home versus Kansas City, and then (after a bye) home versus the defending NFC champion San Francisco 49ers, cross country to the Los Angeles Rams and at the 7-1 Detroit Lions.
If the Bills can somehow coax a 3-1 record in that stretch and beat the Chiefs, then they could catch Kansas City. It helps that Buffalo has two games against the New England Patriots over the final three weeks for a (presumably) easier finish.
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