Chiefs playoff schedule 2023: Dates, times, opponents for Kansas City

Here’s all that you need to know about the Kansas City Chiefs’ playoff schedule as the NFL postseason gets underway.

Coming into the season, the Kansas City Chiefs had more doubters than ever before in Patrick Mahomes’ career as a starting quarterback. Contenders had loaded up for another run, the Bengals were the newly crowned AFC champs, Brett Veach had traded away Tyreek Hill, and the Chiefs’ own division looked like the NFL’s best.

It’s funny how things look from this side.

Look, to be clear, the Chiefs were always among the NFL franchises with the best odds of making it back to the Super Bowl, so it’s not as if analysts were expecting them to tank. However, it’s hard to find anyone outside of Chiefs Kingdom (and sometimes those within it) who expected 14 wins in 17 games against one of the single toughest regular-season schedules.

There are still reasons to doubt. The Bengals have three wins in the last year against K.C., and the Bills are talented and inspired. But the Chiefs are the ones with the first-round bye, future Hall of Famers running the offense, and an improved defense led by young stars on the rise.

Let’s look at what we know about the Chiefs postseason schedule and what’s to come in the weeks ahead.

How did the AFC playoff structure get so confusing?

Buffalo Bills defensive back Damar Hamlin suffered a tragic injury early in the team’s showdown against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 17—a very important game for playoff positioning. In the wake of his hospitalization (and fears of something worse), the teams involved not only postponed the game but the league cancelled any attempts to replay it.

This meant there would be an uneven playing field when trying to compare the overall record of the Kansas City Chiefs against their primary competitors for a chance to represent the conference in Super Bowl LVII. The league decided to decide the top seed by win percentage instead.

What playoff seed are the Kansas City Chiefs?

The Chiefs earned the top seed by winning their final game against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 18 on Saturday. This gave them the best win percentage (82.4 percent) against the Bills at (81.3).

What does it mean that the Chiefs earned the top seed?

The Chiefs will not play in the opening round of the NFL playoffs due to owning the only first-round bye in the AFC. This gives them a free pass to the Divisional Round while all six fellow competitors battle it out next weekend. Only four will be standing in each conference by the time the Chiefs suit up for the first time in the postseason, and they will also be the only team with two weeks of rest.

Will the Chiefs have home-field advantage?

Yes and no. The Chiefs will play at Arrowhead Stadium without exception for the Divisional Round and throughout the postseason if the Bills happen to lose in any of the first two rounds. If the AFC Championship Game comes down to Kansas City and Buffalo, then the NFL decided to find a neutral site to host the game as part of the negotiated response to the cancelled Bills-Bengals game.

Who will the Chiefs meet in the postseason?

The Chiefs will finally enter the ring against the Jacksonville Jaguars after their bye week. The two teams will meet at Arrowhead at 3:30 p.m. C.T. The Jags advanced by defeating the L.A. Chargers in the Wild Card round.

Who made the playoffs from the AFC?

Here is the full seeding for the postseason on the AFC side.

1. Kansas City Chiefs
2. Buffalo Bills
3. Cincinnati Bengals
4. Jacksonville Jaguars
5. Los Angeles Chargers
6. Baltimore Ravens
7. Miami Dolphins

Chiefs playoff dates and times

We will update the playoff schedule round by round as the NFL makes its announcements.

Wild Card Round dates and times

• Saturday, Jan. 14 — Seahawks at 49ers (1:30 p.m., FOX) and Chargers at Jacksonville (5:30 p.m. PT, NBC)
• Sunday, Jan. 15 — Dolphins at Bills (10 a.m. PT, CBS), Giants at Vikings (1:30 p.m. PT, FOX), and Ravens at Bengals (5:30 p.m. PT, NBC)
• Monday Jan. 16 — Cowboys at Buccaneers (5:30 p.m. PT, ABC/ESPN)

Divisional Round dates and times

• Saturday, Jan. 21 — Jaguars at Chiefs (3:30 p.m. C.T., NBC); Giants at Eagles (7:15 p.m. C.T., FOX)
• Sunday, Jan. 22 — Bengals at Bills (2:00 p.m. C.T., CBS); Cowboys/Bucs at 49ers (5:30 p.m. C.T., FOX)

Conference Championship dates and times

• Sunday, Jan. 29 (two games, times/teams TBD)

Super Bowl LVII date and time

• Sunday, Feb. 12 (TBD)