At the start of Week 13, no playoff spots had been clinched so far in the season this year, but that changed on Friday.
Thanks to their wild 19-17 win over the Las Vegas Raiders, they… Kansas City Chiefs (11-1) became the first team to secure a playoff spot in 2024. Heading into Week 13, the Chiefs had several scenarios in which they could clinch a playoff spot, the easiest being a simple two-step process:
The Dolphins lost to the Packers on Thanksgiving night, setting the stage for Kansas City to be the first team to punch its ticket.
By beating Las Vegas, the Chiefs accomplished something they couldn't did it in 26 years: They became the first team to secure a spot outside the divisional playoffs with at least five weeks left in the season, which almost never happens this early. After to NFL playoff guru Joe Ferreriabefore the Chiefs' win on Friday, the last time a team clinched a non-division playoff spot so early was in 1998, when both Broncos And Hawks clinched a playoff spot in Week 12 (the season only lasted 17 weeks in 1998, so there were still five weeks left in the season).
With the loss, the Raiders became the first AFC team and second NFL team overall to be eliminated from the playoffs (The Giants were the first).
As for the Chiefs, they can of course still win the division title at some point in the future, but for now they've only secured a playoff spot, not the overall division standings.
However, there will be a division up for grabs this weekend. The Bills will win the AFC East with a win over the 49ers on Sunday evening. In this case, the Bills would be the first team since 2009 Colts to win a division title at least five weeks before the end of the season.
The Lions can also secure a spot in the playoffs this weekend, but their scenarios are a little more complicated. We've got all that covered, plus three other scenarios where the Chiefs could get in, and You can check out each of them here
