The Kansas City Chiefs wrapped up the AFC’s top seed Saturday night, easily rolling to a 31-13 win over the Las Vegas Raiders.
As a result, the New England Patriots no longer can face Kansas City in the first round of the NFL playoffs. Entering the Week 18 slate of games, there were multiple scenarios that could’ve resulted in a Chiefs-Patriots matchup on wild-card weekend.
So, if New England earns a playoff berth on Sunday, it will visit either the Buffalo Bills or the Cincinnati Bengals the following weekend. Kansas City’s victory also impacted the wildly revamped AFC playoff seeding situation — which you can click here to read about.
Bill Belichick’s team would clinch a playoff spot with a road win over the Bills on Sunday. If New England loses at Highmark Stadium, it still would land in the postseason if three things happen this weekend: Jacksonville Jaguars beat the Tennessee Titans; Cleveland Browns beat the Pittsburgh Steelers; New York Jets beat the Miami Dolphins.
With that in mind, here are the three scenarios in play:
— Patriots win and Bengals beat Baltimore Ravens: New England visits Cincinnati.
— Patriots win and Bengals lose: New England visits Buffalo
— Patriots lose but back into playoffs: New England visits Buffalo
Got all that? Good.
The Patriots and Bills are scheduled to kick off at 1 p.m. ET.
