What coach Andy Reid said about the Kansas City Chiefs moving into AFC’s No. 1 seed
A year ago, the Chiefs eventually cruised to the AFC’s playoff pole position in the final month, even earning the opportunity to rest their starters during the season finale.
A year before that, they required help from an unlikely source in the last weekend just to receive a first-round bye, which they turned into a Super Bowl.
The path to the AFC’s No. 1 seed — now the conference’s only bye in a restructured playoff format — has come in a different fashion this year. But the Chiefs now hold the top spot thanks to losses by the Titans and Patriots over the weekend.
Seven weeks into the season, the Chiefs were 11th in the AFC. Rung by rung, they’ve climbed that ladder and are finally sitting at No. 1 as the Steelers visit Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday.
A different route reminds that a different response is required. They’re no longer chasing the top seed. They’re protecting it.
“I’m not going to tell you that you can’t be excited to be in that position, but you better understand what got you in that position,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said Monday. “It wasn’t being giddy about it. It was about working.
“We have enough senior leadership here to where that will resonate among the young guys, the new guys. I think we’ll be OK that way. And we sure will (be OK) once we start practicing — we’ll make sure of that.”
The Chiefs had a unique opportunity to learn how they moved atop the AFC.
They watched it themselves.
After playing Thursday night in Los Angeles, they were afforded the opportunity to sit back and watch the Colts knock off the Patriots on Saturday and the Steelers beat the Titans on Sunday.
Just like that, third place became first.
“They were great games to watch. I was a viewer, just like everybody because we didn’t have the (players) here. I enjoyed the competition,” Reid said.
The Chiefs have attained this position with seven straight wins. (Remember the conversation about whether they’d even make the playoffs?)
But with four conference losses early in the year, they hold the tiebreaker against virtually nobody in the running for the top seed. Therefore, they need to fend off teams such as the Titans and Patriots by a full game. They must close with a better record.
The easiest math? Win out. Nobody can catch the Chiefs if they conclude with wins against the Steelers (home), Bengals (road) and Broncos (road).
The Titans and Patriots, by the way, each have difficult tasks this weekend. The Titans play host to the surging 49ers (winners of five of six) on Thursday Night Football. The Patriots play host to the Bills.
So the Chiefs could get more help along the way. Some breathing room.
“I know how it lines up. I see that,” Reid said. “But the important thing is we take care of our business now like we’ve been doing the last few weeks and don’t count on anybody but ourselves to get that done.
“Therefore you have to go back through the process and the hard work and all those things to get yourself right for the game.”
This story was originally published December 20, 2021 at 1:28 PM with the headline "What coach Andy Reid said about the Kansas City Chiefs moving into AFC’s No. 1 seed."