Chiefs take on Pats with hopes of avoiding more travel in playoffs

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Travis Kelce could be spending some more time on the road in 2024 — and not just to see Taylor Swift in concert.

The diva-dating tight end and the rest of the Kansas City Chiefs (8-5) are in an unexpected fight for the division title and might have to play their first AFC playoff road game of the Patrick Mahomes era. The Chiefs are the No. 3 seed in the conference heading into Sunday’s game against New England (3-10), which could force them to play twice on the road to defend their Super Bowl title.

“The division is tight. The AFC is tight,” Mahomes said this week as he prepared to try and snap a two-game losing streak. “We have to go out there and play our best football and try to get better this week and try to find a way to get a win.”

With the Denver Broncos winning six of their last seven games, Kansas City is down to a one-game lead in the division — closer than it’s been in more than two months. Even if the Chiefs hold on to win the AFC West for the eighth straight year, the NFL’s 14-team playoff bracket could force them onto the road for the first time since 2015.

The good news: Their remaining schedule pits them against New England, Las Vegas (5-8), Cincinnati (7-6) and the Chargers (5-8).

“It’s week-to-week in the league. I think our players understand that,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “They know what they need to do. We just have to get it done.”

Reid, Mahomes fined

Chiefs coach Andy Reid was fined $100,000 and quarterback Patrick Mahomes was fined $50,000 for criticizing officials about an offside penalty that negated a TD late in the fourth quarter of K.C.’s 2017 loss to Buffalo last week, a source said. Reid called the penalty “a bit embarrassing” for the NFL. Mahomes said the call was “elementary school” stuff.