Kansas City Chiefs get helping hand from Dolphins, earn first-round bye
The Kansas City Chiefs needed some help from an unlikely source on Sunday in Week 17 to get a first-round playoff bye but the Dolphins delivered.
It was perhaps the unlikeliest of ways for the Kansas City Chiefs to earn a first-round bye in the NFL Playoffs in Week 17.
Had you told someone in the preseason that Andy Reid‘s team would need to beat the Chargers on a day when Patrick Mahomes would throw for under 175 yards and would also need the defending Super Bowl champion Patriots to lose to the rebuilding and talent-depleted Dolphins, that person would’ve started packing their bags for a Wild Card Weekend game.
And yet, the Chiefs were able to see their way into the Divisional Round on Sunday as Damien Williams led the way on offense while the Kansas City defense made enough splash plays to get them past the rival Chargers, 31-21. But after doing their part, the more unlikely scenario also played out.
Kansas City got a huge helping hand from the Miami Dolphins, a team that many questioned if they would win a game this season or not, as they toppled the mighty Patriots on the back of a pick-six off Tom Brady and another 300-yard passing day from Ryan Fitzpatrick.
With the ideal scenario playing out for the Chiefs, Reid’s club now gets at least their first game at Arrowhead Stadium and would only have to play the Ravens in Baltimore in the AFC Championship Game. That’s a huge advantage for this team as Kansas City is a proven game-changing environment that can swing a contest with a postseason feel added to the air.
On top of that, the Chiefs have been clearly hitting their stride as of late. The defense has played their best football of the year over the final few weeks while Mahomes and the offense have looked healthy and ready to strike.
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Though they needed help from the Dolphins to earn it, Kansas City is a team no one wants to see in January. And now anyone who draws that misfortune will have to see them in Arrowhead for the Divisional Round.