AFC playoff picture, Week 15: KC Chiefs clinch AFC West
After Week 15 of the NFL season, what do the standings look like in the AFC and AFC West? Where do the KC Chiefs stack up in the conference and division?
The NFL has completed 15 weeks of the regular season and the AFC playoff race is as intriguing as ever. One division is still up in the air and several teams are fighting for the final two wild card spots in the conference.
Week 15 featured five games involving two AFC teams and six members of the AFC lined up against NFC teams. Coming into the week, nine teams in the AFC had a winning record and seven teams had a losing record. What were the results of the games this week, and how did the standings change since last week?
Here is how the AFC West standings look after Week 15:
Kansas City Chiefs. 1. team. 124. . 11-3.
13. . 8-6. . Los Angeles Chargers. 2. team
6-8. . Las Vegas Raiders. 3. team. 28.
4. team. 45. . 4-10. . Denver Broncos
In Week 15, the Kansas City Chiefs squeaked past the Houston Texans in overtime. The Denver Broncos beat the Cardinals at home; the Las Vegas Raiders beat the New England Patriots after a crazy Chandler Jones defensive touchdown; the Los Angeles Chargers beat the Tennessee Titans after a last-second field goal from Cameron Dicker.
According to FiveThirtyEight (QB Adjusted), before Week 15, the Chiefs were virtual locks to win the AFC West with a >99% chance to win the division, only needing a win or a Chargers loss to clinch the division. The Los Angeles Chargers, Denver Broncos, and Las Vegas Raiders were less than 0.1%, respectively. After the victory on Sunday, the Chiefs are the AFC West champions for the seventh consecutive season.
The AFC West race is officially over and the Chiefs are division champions again. The last time the Chiefs finished a regular season and weren’t in first place in the division, Peyton Manning, Jared Allen, Calvin Johnson, Matt Hasselbeck, Charles Woodson, and Reggie Wayne were all still playing.