Soccer will resume, at least temporarily, on Saturday with a matchup against the AFC's top-ranked team. kansas city chiefs And won the AFC South division. houston texans. The seeding of both teams is still up in the air with the injured Patrick Mahomes expected to play, but this is a key issue for both teams heading into the playoffs.
The game will be played Saturday at 1:00 pm ET at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City. Despite home field advantage, the Chiefs are 3.5 point favorites to win. This is likely due to Houston's strong play in recent weeks, as well as Mahomes suffering from a sprained ankle. that line is coming Powered by FanDuel Sportsbook.
Texans playoff photos
Unlike the Chiefs, the Texans don't have a chance to earn the top seed and home-field advantage through the playoffs. However, they are still among the No. 2 to No. 4 seeds to win the division. They currently sit in fourth place, just one game behind. pittsburgh steelers After 3 games and after 2 games buffalo bills In second place, they must continue to win to improve their seeding.
All you'll know during Saturday's game is that if Houston beats the Chiefs, they have a chance to help themselves. They control the No. 4 seed, but the teams above them need to lose some games to improve their seeding. Going forward, to secure the No. 2 seed, the Bills would need to lose two of their last three games and Pittsburgh would need to win all of their games while losing at least one. The No. 3 seed would need a win on top of one loss at Pittsburgh or two losses at the Bills.
Chiefs playoff photos
Again, things are pretty simple for the Chiefs right now. As the only team at 13-1, all they have to do is win one more game, while the 11-3 Bills have one more loss. The Chiefs will then earn a first-round bye and home-field advantage through the championship round of the postseason. This week could also be decided if the score is tied and the Bills lose, or if the Bills win and the score is tied.
Impact on tiebreaker
Both teams are guaranteed a spot in the postseason, but there are still tiebreakers to consider. In general, the AFC is pretty spread out when it comes to overall performance, with the top four teams each having different records, and a tie for the wild card spot largely coming into the equation.
That means conference record could be a major factor here on the list of possible fourth tiebreakers in play. The Chiefs lead the AFC alone with an 8-1 record, but the three teams that could compete for the No. 2 seed – Buffalo, Pittsburgh and Houston – are all 7-2 in their conference. Such tie-breaks will come into effect after head-to-head matches, divisional matches, and general match records.
