Kansas City football fans had to wait until the final game of the NFL’s 2023 regular season before the Chiefs’ playoff opponent was determined. With the Buffalo Bills’ Sunday night win over the Miami Dolphins, we now know the Chiefs' wild card adversary.
The AFC’s No. 6-seeded Dolphins, at 11-6, will travel from south Florida to frigid Kansas City for the Saturday, Jan. 13, fixture. The Chiefs, also at 11-6, are the No. 3 seed in the AFC. Kansas City previously beat the Dolphins, 21-14, on Nov. 5 in Frankfurt, Germany.
Only the No. 1 seeds in each conference receive a playoff bye week, which means the Baltimore Ravens will await the outcome of Wild Card Weekend.
Chiefs fans are undoubtedly hoping for a repeat of the 2019 season, when the then-No. 1 Ravens failed to make the AFC Championship. Instead, Kansas City played host to the Tennessee Titans for the AFC title game, and eventually won the Super Bowl in Miami.
For fans who didn’t make the trip to Europe for the first Chiefs’ and Dolphins’ matchup, Saturday’s game is a chance at a true home game.
Based on the weather forecasts, you better bundle up.
With below-zero temperatures and even worse wind chill, the game is anticipated to break records for the coldest ever played at Arrowhead Stadium. On the other hand, that means ticket prices are pretty cheap if you want to snag a few last-minute seats.
Where and when to watch the Chiefs game
The Saturday night, Jan. 13, game will be televised in Kansas City on KSHB-TV, channel 41, at 7 p.m. Central time. Fans outside the Kansas City metro can stream the game on Peacock.
How the Chiefs got here
It wasn’t easy down the stretch, but the Chiefs managed to clinch their eighth straight AFC West title on New Year’s Eve against the Cincinnati Bengals. The win officially put the Chiefs in the playoffs, and eliminated the Bengals, one of Kansas City’s biggest nemeses in recent years.
Before beating the Bengals, the Chiefs lost four of their previous six games, including a dreadful Christmas Day loss against the archrival Las Vegas Raiders.
Still, Kansas City was never seriously challenged in the division standings this season, and their streak of divisional titles is the second longest in NFL history. Only New England has a longer streak, with eleven AFC East titles between 2009 and 2019.
What to watch for
Everything starts with the play of Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes. Despite sitting out the no-stakes, final regular-season game, Mahomes still threw for 4,183 yards this season, and eclipsed the 4,000-yard passing mark for his sixth straight campaign. Drew Brees holds that NFL record with 12 straight seasons, between 2006 and 2017.
But by Mahomes’ own standards, it wasn’t his best year. His sixth year as a starter included several rough patches and the team led the league with 40 dropped passes going into the final weekend of the regular season, according to Pro Football Reference.
Mahomes also openly displayed his frustrations more often than in previous seasons.
The officiating crew was sometimes the target of that frustration, as was evident in Mahomes’ postgame comments after a Dec. 10 loss to Buffalo. After a potential game-winning touchdown catch by Kadarius Toney was nullified because of a controversial offside call, Mahomes told the media, “I know, as fans, you want to see the guys on the field decide the game.”
“Who knows if we win?” Mahomes said.
Mahomes and Chiefs coach Andy Reid wound up being fined by the NFL for their postgame comments that week.
The Chiefs offense averaged just 21.8 points per game this season, down from 29.2 points during last year’s Super Bowl run, when Kansas City scored more than 40 points three times. This season, they did it just once, against the lowly Chicago Bears on Sept. 24.
The Chiefs relied more successfully on their defense this season, allowing only 17.6 points per game. Only two teams averaged fewer: the Ravens, allowing 16.5 points per game, and the 49ers allowing 17.5 points. Last year, a young Chiefs defense allowed 21.7 points per game.
One glaring defensive shortcoming has been Kansas City’s inability to force turnovers. Before Mike Edwards scored the game’s only touchdown this past Sunday against the Chargers on a fumble recovery, the Chiefs had only 16 takeaways during the regular season. Only three NFL teams had fewer: the L.A. Rams, Tennessee and Carolina.
What’s at stake
The Chiefs have a chance to become the first team since the New England Patriots in 2003 and 2004 to win back-to-back Super Bowl championships.
One of the main factors keeping Kansas City from accomplishing that feat is the same thing that thwarted their back-to-back chances in 2020: a patched-up offensive line.
The Chiefs lost that Super Bowl to the Tom Brady-led Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and completely rebuilt their line for the 2021 season. This year, the health of starting left tackle Donovan Smith is questionable after he missed the final four games of the regular season with a neck injury.
Wanya Morris, a third-round pick in this year’s NFL Draft, started in Smith’s place, but left the game during the regular-season finale and entered the concussion protocol.
