Mahomes leads champion Chiefs to 14-2 mark in stacked AFC
So often, uneasy is the head that wears the crown. Yet the Kansas City Chiefs followed up their first Super Bowl title in half a century by posting the NFL’s best record at 14-2, earning the AFC’s only firstround bye in the expanded playoff format.
1. Kansas City Chiefs
• AP Pro32 Ranking: No.
1.
• Last Lombardi: Super Bowl 54, 31-20 over the San Francisco 49ers on Feb. 2, 2020, at Miami.
• Last year: No. 2 seed, beat Houston 51-31 in divisional round, beat Tennessee 35-24 in AFC championship to reach the Super Bowl, where they overcame a 20-10 fourth-quarter deficit. .
Hope: The Chiefs won 10 straight games before playing their backups in Week 17. Patrick Mahomes has had another MVP-caliber season, throwing for 4,740 yards with 38 TDs and six interceptions, and is surrounded by an even more dynamic supporting cast than last season. TE Travis Kelce has had a record-setting season with 105 catches for 1,416 yards and 11 TDs, WRs Tyreek Hill and Sammy Watkins should be healthy, and rookie RB Clyde EdwardsHelaire should return from a high ankle sprain.
2. Buffalo Bills
• AP Pro32 Ranking: No. 3.
• No Lombardis in four Super Bowl appearances.
• Last year: No. 5 seed, squandered 16- 0 thirdquarter lead in 22-19 overtime loss at Houston in a wild-card playoff.
Hope: Josh Allen led a record-setting offense in Buffalo that included Stefon Diggs’ NFL-high 127 catches and produced a franchisebest 501 points. Allen completed 69.2% of his passes, up from 52.8% as a rookie in 2018. In winning six in a row and nine of its last 10, Buffalo became the NFL’s first team to close a season winning three straight by 25 points or more since the 1996 Packers.
3. Pittsburgh Steelers
• AP Pro32 Ranking: No.
6.
• Last Lombardi: Super Bowl 43, 27-23 win over the Arizona Cardinals on Feb. 1, 2009, at Tampa, Florida.
• Last year: 8-8.
Hope: T.J. Watt led the league with 15 sacks and the Steelers tied their franchise record with 56 QB takedowns, fueling their bestever 11-0 start. QB Ben Roethlisberger bounced back from right elbow surgery to throw for 33 TDs with 10 interceptions and was sacked an NFL-low 13 times in 621 drop-backs. Rookie WR Chase Claypool can flip the field at a moment’s notice and the Steelers have grown comfortable playing close games, going 6-0 in contests decided by five points or less.
4. Tennessee Titans
• AP Pro32 Ranking: No.
9.
• No Lombardis.
• Last year: No. 6 seed, won AFC wild card at New England 20-13, won divisional game at Baltimore 28-12, lost AFC championship 35-24 at Kansas City.
Hope: Derrick Henry and Ryan Tannehill give the Titans as potent an offense as there is in this 14-team playoff field. Henry is the eighth 2,000-yard running back with 2,027 yards and a league-best 17 touchdown runs. Tannehill threw for a career-best 33 TDs and ran for seven more, also a career high. The Titans had 11 100yard receiving games with only Kansas City averaging more yards of offense per game.
5. Baltimore Ravens
• AP Pro32 Ranking: No.
7.
• Last Lombardi: Super Bowl 47, 34-31 over the San Francisco 49ers on Feb. 1, 2013.
• Last year: No. 1 seed for first time in franchise history, lost divisional home game to Tennessee 28-12. .
Hope: The Ravens’ multifaceted QB Lamar Jackson rushed for 1,005 yards as part of the league’s topranked ground game. Jackson, the 2019 NFL MVP, is equally adept at darting downfield on planned keepers or when flushed from the pocket. Rookie J.K Dobbins (805 yards) and Gus Edwards (723 yards) provide ample support to Jackson in grinding out big gains on the ground for a team that’s tough to beat when playing with the lead.