You Won't See the Kansas City Chiefs During the NFL Playoffs This Weekend

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The archetypal circular of the NFL postseason kicks disconnected this play with Wild Card Playoffs successful some the AFC and the NFC conferences — but the reigning Super Bowl champs volition not beryllium playing a game.

The Kansas City Chiefs clinched the No. 1 effect successful the AFC pursuing their 2024 Christmas victory implicit the Pittsburgh Steelers.

“I thought it was a full-team performance. Defense stepped up, discourtesy stepped up [and] everyone had their imprint connected the game,” backmost Patrick Mahomes told reporters after the game. “I told my large woman [Brittany Mahomes] I was going to get the No. 1 seed, truthful we tin person the baby.”

The No. 1 effect prime does not person to play successful a Wild Card game. (Meaning successful the NFC, the Detroit Lions besides person a bye week.) The different apical 7 teams successful the league volition instrumentality the field, portion the Chiefs and the Lions get what is champion described arsenic a hard-earned time off. For Patrick, it is besides erstwhile his woman is owed to springiness birth to their 3rd baby.

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The Chiefs volition play the victor of 1 of the Wild Card games aboriginal this period successful a divisional playoff round. The divisional winners yet look disconnected successful an effort to beforehand to the league championship, which, of course, determines the NFC and AFC teams that volition play successful the 2025 Super Bowl.

Super Bowl LIX volition beryllium held successful New Orleans connected Sunday, February 9, and the Chiefs are hoping to marque history and triumph a 3rd consecutive Lombardi trophy.

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“To triumph 1 is highly difficult, to triumph 2 back-to-back similar the Chiefs person done — arsenic we cognize successful the past of the athletics — astir impossible,” retired backmost Tom Brady said during a September 2024 Fox Sports broadcast. “To triumph 3 successful a row? There is simply a crushed wherefore nary 1 has done it. To enactment 3 of those unneurotic … with drafting last, a precise hard schedule, each the turnover successful escaped agency, guys continuing to beryllium motivated, it is simply a large challenge.”

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Brady, 47, added, “Fortunately, they person a tremendous manager successful Andy Reid [who] doesn’t ever look backward. He is not going to say, ‘Hey, due to the fact that we were large past year, we’re going to beryllium large again this year.’ He holds those guys accountable. But to triumph it each again is simply a momentous task.”

During the past regular play crippled and caput of the divisional round, Reid made the determination to sit retired a fig of apical starters including Patrick, 29, Travis Kelce, Chris Jones and more. Backup backmost Carson Wentz started the January 5 distant crippled against the Denver Broncos that yet ended successful a 38-0 Chiefs’ loss, eliminating the Cincinnati Bengals and the Miami Dolphins from the playoffs.