Chiefs hoping that bumpy regular season preps them for another playoff push

Updated Jan. 2, 2024 1:11 p.m. ET

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Clark Hunt tends to remember the euphoria that comes when the Kansas City Chiefs have hoisted championship trophies.

The team's chairman admittedly forgets about the challenges along the way.

But there's a good chance Hunt will remember the bumps that Kansas City overcame on the road to an eighth consecutive AFC West title, if only because they have been so pronounced: Injuries to key players, penalties at crucial times and dropped passes that have plagued their wide receivers all made it a chore just to reach the playoffs yet again.

“I tend to forget how hard certain seasons have been,” Hunt said after a 25-17 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday that clinched the division and secured the No. 3 seed. “You sort of block out the tough parts of the season.

“There definitely was some adversity this year,” Hunt continued. “Every year is different, and we've had adversity in some other years where we've won the West as well. I do think adversity can be beneficial by the time you get to the playoffs, because the playoffs are never going to be easy."

Especially this season. The Chiefs won't have home-field advantage throughout the playoffs, as they've had in past years. In fact, they might well have to hit the road for the divisional round for the first time with Patrick Mahomes at quarterback, assuming they get past a wild-card game that will take place at Arrowhead Stadium in a couple of weeks.

At least they can rest some of their starters as they have in the past. The Chiefs made their visit to the Chargers this Sunday meaningless with their win over Cincinnati, though coach Andy Reid could be tempted to play them all in an attempt to build on some of the positive momentum that they generated against the Bengals.

“I kind of just let Coach Reid make all of those decisions and then I roll with it,” Mahomes said. "If he wants us to get out there and kind of build off this momentum we have, I’ll be ready to go. And if he wants to give us some rest then I’ll get that rest, prepare for whoever we’re going play and be ready to go in the playoffs.”

WHAT’S WORKING

The Chiefs' pass rush has been hit or miss all season, but it spent Sunday hitting Bengals quarterback Jake Browning. They had six sacks, including four on the final Cincinnati drive, when Browning was trying to rally his team for a tying touchdown.

“I was just chilling back there watching them,” Chiefs cornerback L'Jarius Sneed said.

WHAT NEEDS HELP

Kansas City needs more production from its tight ends, which sounds bizarre when Travis Kelce is on the field. But he had only three catches for 16 yards, and fellow tight end Noah Gray had three for 17. It's not entirely their fault, though Kelce had a drop on Sunday. He was open deep downfield more than once and Mahomes failed to spot him.

STOCK UP

Chiefs safety Justin Reid has been consistently good all season, but he was excellent against Cincinnati. Reid had two of those late sacks on consecutive plays while blitzing from the defensive backfield, and he was second on the team with eight total tackles.

“We were executing really all game and in the biggest moments your biggest players — in every situation — your players have to make plays,” Reid said. “Everyone played their role to give me enough time to get home.”

STOCK DOWN

Left tackle Wanya Morris has taken some rookie lumps the past couple of weeks. The Raiders' Maxx Crosby roughed him up in a loss to Las Vegas, and the Bengals' Trey Hendrickson got around him Sunday for a strip-sack that led to a Cincinnati touchdown.

INJURIES

Kadarius Toney was inactive because of a lingering hip injury, and with Skyy Moore already on injured reserve, the wide receiver group is getting thin. Justin Watson was briefly knocked out of Sunday's game with a chest injury, and Marquez Valdes-Scantling proved once again that he cannot be trusted with another egregious dropped pass.

KEY NUMBER

9 — While the Chiefs have won eight straight division titles, they also have qualified for the postseason in nine straight years. That is second only to the Patriots, who made the playoffs 11 consecutive years with Tom Brady at quarterback.

NEXT STEPS

The Chiefs visit the Chargers in Los Angeles next Sunday before returning home for the wild-card round of the playoffs.

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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

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