In the final month of the regular season, only two AFC teams averaged 27-plus points per game. One of those teams finished with the best record in the conference, the Kansas City Chiefs.
The other somehow drew the final seed, needing to win in the final weekend of the regular season to have a shot at the third-seeded Houston Texans. That team, the Indianapolis Colts, didn’t score 27 against the Texans, but they certainly embarrassed a team that’s notorious for being underwhelming in the postseason.
Does that sound like anyone else?
Throughout his reign with the Chiefs, Andy Reid has only won one playoff game, which came against a Brian Hoyer-led Texans that got skunked 30-0 in 2015. Reid’s Chiefs lost the other four times, most recently to Marcus Mariota and the Tennessee Titans last season. The other three quarterbacks Kansas City has lost to since the 2013 postseason: Tom Brady, Ben Roethlisberger, and Andrew Luck.
That’s right, Luck has already gotten past Reid, long before his shoulder problems. But it seems like his right arm has loosened up a fair amount, with Luck finishing fifth in passing yards in the NFL and second in passing touchdowns, trailing only Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes’ 50. But Luck is more than capable of handling a shootout, based on his performance throughout the regular season, and the fact that his playoff win over Reid’s Chiefs came in a 45-44 shootout.
Now, Mahomes is far superior to the quarterbacks the Chiefs have had before, but he lost one of his best offensive weapons towards the end of the year (Kareem Hunt) and he’s playing with a bunch that hasn’t been able to seal the deal in previous chances.
However, Mahomes can have his best night and the Chiefs can still very easily lose. Reid has proven time and again he can’t handle the pressure of a close game late into the contest. So as much as the Chiefs are the AFC’s top team based on seeding heading into the divisional round, this game is far from a lock—even with the chance to host at their beloved Arrowhead.
