KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Fans of the Kansas City Chiefs are optimistic going into the NFL postseason, despite the league agreeing to change the location of the AFC Championship Game under certain circumstances.
“I think we go very far in the playoffs, but I’m hoping for the [Super] Bowl,” Bruce Collins said.
With a win Saturday against the Las Vegas Raiders, the Chiefs would secure the No. 1 seed. The top seed includes a bye in the first week of the playoffs. The ranking normally comes with home field advantage during the postseason as well.
Because the Bills and Bengals did not finish their game Monday night during which Bills safety Damar Hamlin suffered cardiac arrest, teams have a different number of completed games.
The NFL said that “creates potential competitive inequities in certain playoff scenarios.
To mitigate those inequities NFL team owners voted Friday to approve a set of circumstances which moves the AFC Championship Game to a neutral site because the Chiefs, Bills and Bengals all had chances to earn the No. 1 seed if Monday's game wasn’t cancelled.
Here’s how the new rules would impact the AFC Championship Game’s location:
- If Kansas City and Buffalo both win this weekend — the Chiefs play Saturday at the Raiders and the Bills host New England on Sunday — an AFC Championship Game between the two teams would be played at a neutral site.
- If Buffalo and Kansas City both lose and Baltimore beats Cincinnati, a Chiefs-Bills AFC Championship Game still would be played at a neutral site.
- If Kansas City and Buffalo lose and Cincinnati beats the Ravens, a Chiefs-Bengals AFC Championship Game would be played at a neutral site as well.
“In my opinion, the most important aspect of getting the No. 1 seed is getting the bye week and avoiding playing in the wildcard round and immediately advancing to the divisional round,” said Steven St. John of Sports Radio 810.
He pointed out home field advantage hasn’t guaranteed a Chiefs victory in past AFC Championship Games.
“The last four years, the AFC Championship Game has been at Arrowhead Stadium, the Chiefs are 2 and 2. On the NFC side, over the past 4 years, the home team is 2 and 2,” St. John pointed out.
“I think on a neutral ground, we’ll do great,” said Collins.
Fans eating lunch at Charlie Hooper’s this Red Friday had faith in the team’s chances no matter where the game is played.
“Yeah, it’s the Chiefs, c’mon, they’re awesome. They’re going to pull it together,” Chris Roach said.
Season ticket member Michael Donaldson and his dad have attended several AFC Championship Games at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium.
“It would be nice to have a home AFC Championship Game,” Donaldson said. “But that first round bye is huge to get another week of rest, not having to play one more game than everyone, it’s quite an advantage.”
The Chiefs play the Raiders in Las Vegas at 3:30 p.m. Saturday in the regular season finale.
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