3 in the Kee: As Chiefs climb playoff ladder, every AFC win is huge
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Before we lay a wreath for Rex Ryan, here's to conference wins. They're all big, but for the Kansas City Chiefs, victories against the AFC, or the AFC West in particular, are just a bit bigger.
Why? Playoff tiebreakers.
For example, if there's a deadlock between two teams, either for a division title or a wild-card slot, the order is determined first by:
1. Head-to-head record
2. Best winning percentage in division games (if the teams are from the same division)
3. Best winning percentage in common games
4. Best winning percentage in conference games
If the postseason started tomorrow, the Chiefs (5-3) would be the No. 6 seed and final playoff team in the AFC bracket, thanks to the fourth wild-card tiebreaker, which slots the Andy Gang's 4-2 conference record ahead of Cleveland's (3-3) and Buffalo's (2-3), and to the first tiebreaker, which eliminates the Dolphins because of KC's Week 3 victory in Miami.
Now none of this may come into play, and 10 wins probably pushes you past the danger zone, but a 9-7 team from the AFC could squeeze into that final postseason slot. It just has to be the right 9-7. Which means Sunday's trip to Buffalo is just as meaningful, potentially, as last Sunday's almost businesslike dispatching of Gang Green ....
THREE LINGERING QUESTIONS FROM CHIEFS 24, JETS 10
:03 ... Priest Holmes: Great Chiefs back, or greatest Chiefs back?
The Chiefs' second all-time leading rusher -- making a cameo at Arrowhead Stadium at halftime to celebrate his name being added to the club's Ring of Honor -- had nothing but good things to say Sunday about the man who supplanted him at the top of the franchise chart, Jamaal Charles.
"As far as that goes with Jamaal, hats off to him," said Holmes, who ran for 6,070 yards and 76 touchdowns with Kansas City from 2001-07. "(He's a) former Longhorn as well. We pride ourselves in having something to have to do with running backs out of Texas. Not only that, but records are meant to be broken. I have had a share of records that I've been able to break. Marshall Faulk, Emmitt Smith, some of the players I looked up to, but it's always about setting that bar a little bit further up, and I definitely think he's done that."
And back atcha:
"I mean, me and Priest are close," said Charles, who passed Holmes during the Chiefs' 23-20 win at San Diego during Week 7 and has run for 6,258 yards. "We went to the same school (Texas). ... (I) came here knowing they had some great running backs, and I'm happy to be a part of it. I'm blessed."
:02 ... Only two sacks allowed to a solid St. Louis front and just one given up to an even better one thrown out there by the Jets. This should give me hope for the Chiefs' pocket heading into salty tests with Buffalo and Seattle, right?
It should. The Jets came into last Sunday with as many team sacks (24) as the Chiefs and feature former Mizzou star Sheldon Richardson raising Cain in the middle of the line, but coach Andy Reid had quarterback Alex Smith get the ball out quickly to try to neutralize the pressure. Running the ball early and often helped, too.
"No doubt, no doubt," Chiefs center Rodney Hudson said. "They've got some good players in that front seven. They do a good job in their schemes. What we (had to) do, we just had to prepare well and come out and execute."
They'll have to do the same in Buffalo this upcoming weekend; the Bills head into Monday night ranked second in the league in sacks (28). The Seahawks, whom the Chiefs entertain Nov. 16, are tied for 28th (11), but keep in mind, the defending Super Bowl champs had 44 sacks a year ago, tied for eighth best in the league.
Flip through our photo album of NFL cheerleaders.
:01 ... So will a Chiefs wideout catch a touchdown pass this year?
Yes. Well, maybe. Eventually. Lest we forget, wide receiver Dwayne Bowe led all Chiefs players in times targeted (10, a season high) Sunday and Alex Smith was apparently trying to fire a slant in the end zone to No. 82 late in the first quarter when the ball got deflected into the waiting arms of a seated Anthony Fasano.
"I mean, the most important thing is that we're scoring touchdowns," Smith said. "That's the biggest thing. We want to score points and we want to score touchdowns. I don't care if Jamaal or Knile (Davis) run the ball in or (we) throw it outside. It really doesn't matter. It speaks on the group we have here; guys that play for each other (and) aren't looking at their stats or fantasy numbers each week. They want to go out there and they want to win."
You can follow Sean Keeler on Twitter at @SeanKeeler or email him at seanmkeeler@gmail.com.
