KC Chiefs are work in progress but so are rest of AFC’s playoff teams

Let’s not mince words. The Kansas City Chiefs don’t look much like a playoff team heading into Week 16 of their schedule. This team is being plagued by penalties, ball security issues, red zone inefficiency and situational consistency. They’re 3-1 over the past four weeks, but questions abound about postseason possibilities. Can this football team survive a mediocre brand of football in January?

There seems to be an assumption that the other presently-seeded teams in the AFC are already in playoff mode. Though, a closer look at the teams who’ll challenge the Chiefs in their quest for a return trip to Phoenix might tell a different tale. The top-seeded Bills are undefeated over their last four. The same is true of the Cincinnati Bengals over that span. The real question is do either of those teams have their own warts to be concerned with? The answer might surprise you.

As controversial as this might sound, none of the AFC’s seven playoff seeds are currently putting a playoff-caliber product on the field right now. Just four of them have winning records over the past month (Buffalo, Cincinnati, Kansas City and Los Angeles). The other three teams — Baltimore, Tennessee and Miami — are all .500 or worse. The Titans are in the worst position having lost four straight. The aforementioned may not assuage your anxieties about the Kansas City Chiefs, but it should give you some perspective. There are three weeks remaining in the regular season and every team in the AFC playoff picture has serious work to do.

Teams should be playing their best football in the month of December. That’s not been the case for the Kansas City Chiefs, but they’re not alone.

The Bills have committed 23 penalties over the past month. Pass protection has been an issue for Buffalo’s offensive line. In that time, Josh Allen has been dumped 10 times. In their second matchup with the New York Jets, the Bills were just 2-for-13 on third down. You think the Chiefs have been in dogfights? Two of Buffalo’s last four wins have been by a margin of victory of just six points.

Cincinnati might be the most playoff-ready currently, but they’re far from perfect. They’ve also committed 23 penalties over the past four games. On third down, they’re just 23-of-53 since November 27th. Their wins over the Chiefs and Titans were by a combined total of just seven points.

Tennessee has lost four straight, have a share of the lead for the most-penalized team of the playoff field at 26 and have surrendered 15 sacks. They were just 4-of-14 on third down versus the Philadelphia Eagles. They were worse on the road against the Chargers converting just 3 of 11 third downs offensively.

The Ravens are 2-2 over their past four. Lamar Jackson was felled by an injury in Week 13 and has since missed two full games and part of another. Couple that with 14 penalties, 10 sacks and some offensive inefficiency on third down and they’re fighting for their playoff lives. Their two wins over a four-week stretch are by a grand total of three points.

The Chargers have rebounded a bit winning three of their last four, but there a number of questions surrounding that football team. Justin Herbert has been sacked an average of four times per game since late November, they’ve committed 17 penalties and were less than stellar on third down versus the Tennessee Titans. The Bolts slid by a 4-10 Cardinals team and beat the hapless Titans by just three points.

Miami’s trending in the wrong direction as winners of just one of their last four. No AFC seed has committed more penalties (26), Tua Tagovailoa has been sacked three times per game and they’re just 12-for-47 on third down. The Dolphins have had perhaps the biggest fall from grace since Thanksgiving. The Fins are hanging on by a thread as the AFC’s No. 7 seed.

I’m not sure if this moves the needle. You might still be pessimistic about the Chiefs’ chances to win a second Super Bowl in the past four seasons. I honestly don’t blame you. There are real reasons to worry about how far this team can go in the forthcoming postseason tournament. All I can do is submit to you that there are six other fan bases with the same concerns. Every team in the playoff field is flawed (some more seriously than others). The goal in the NFL is not to peak too soon. There is still time for the Chiefs to get themselves prepared to make a run.

There are positive signs. Isiah Pacheco, despite a fumble, is the Chiefs’ unquestioned RB1. Patrick Mahomes just played his most efficient game of the season. Jerick McKinnon has put together a brilliant two-game stretch. The team is getting healthier overall. Sunday presents another opportunity to tune things up. The hope is that the Chiefs, like the other AFC teams, begin to take full advantage of the time they have left to prepare for the playoffs.