NFL playoff race: Who’s hot, who’s not? Chiefs streaking, Titans making late push

4:34 Highlights Kansas City’s road win over the Patriots

After starting 4-0, the Chiefs had a bit of a mid-season slump – and that was before Patrick Mahomes suffered a dislocated kneecap in Week Seven. After a loss on his return, the Chiefs have come up with three straight wins, including two crucial AFC West victories and a monumental win in New England last week.

Somehow he is flying under the radar as he’s not operating at the breakneck speed he was at the start of the season, but last year’s MVP Mahomes has still thrown for 21 touchdowns to just three interceptions with a passer rating of 105.3 this year. Watch out because if he gets hot, no one will want to face the Chiefs in January.

Chicago Bears (7-6, W3, 3rd in NFC North)

Is there enough time for a late surge for Chicago? They are giving it everything to try and sneak in as the sixth seed, but will need things to go their way.

Despite quarterback Mitchell Trubisky lighting it up in the last two games with seven total touchdowns and impressive showings with his arm and legs, the Bears face the 10-3 Packers, 9-4 Chiefs and 9-4 Vikings in their last three games, and are already one game behind Minnesota in the fight for the sixth seed.

Pittsburgh Steelers (8-5, W3, 2nd in AFC North)

The Steelers are certainly the most under-the-radar team currently holding a playoff berth. They haven’t had any ‘signature’ wins and have instead manage to scrape close wins with an outstanding defense and a combination of Mason Rudolph and undrafted rookie Devlin Hodges at quarterback.

Hodges has now won four straight games to start his career despite throwing just 71 passes across them. This is a well-coached, tough football team – but will they hold on to the sixth seed? Pittsburgh face Buffalo and Baltimore in the last three weeks (plus the Jets on the road) and have Tennessee nipping at their heels.

Who’s not?

New England Patriots (10-3, L2, 1st in AFC East)

Last week, we asked: what is going wrong for Tom Brady? The future Hall of Famer had struggled, and New England had lost two of the last four. Now they lost again – to a potential postseason opponent in the Chiefs, who ended their 21-game home winning streak.

  • Chiefs end Patriots home win streak

This is not the right time for any offense to struggle as much as they are, and the defense isn’t at the elite level it was earlier in the year. Although New England are usually reborn in January anyway, there is some real concern. Brady has completed just 51.5 per cent of his passes in the last month with a 72.5 passer rating. It won’t be good enough.

With Buffalo right behind them, the Week 16 clash between the two is massive.

Dallas Cowboys (6-7, L3, 1st in NFC East)

8:12 Highlights of Dallas’s disappointing Thursday night outing in Chicago

The woes continued last Thursday as Dallas dropped their third straight game – and fourth of the last five – to the Bears in Chicago. Ultimately, the season will come down to next week’s NFC East decider when they visit the Eagles in Philly. But they simply have to prove they deserve in the playoffs or they will end up ‘one and done’ yet again.

Indianapolis Colts (6-7, L3, 3rd in AFC South)

At one point in the season, the Colts were 5-2 with a 2-0 division record and looking in fine form. Since then, they’ve crashed back down to earth and all but lost the season. They can officially still squeeze in – they are just two games behind the Texans and Titans – but it will be a miracle if they do.

Andrew Luck’s retirement did ultimately change the direction of this team, and they will have some decisions to make over the offseason. Where do they go from here?

Oakland Raiders (6-7, L3, 2nd in AFC West)

Four weeks ago, after moving to 6-4, Oakland were officially in the mix in the AFC. They had won three straight and were neck-and-neck with Kansas City in the West.

Since then, they’ve given up at least 34 points in three straight games – including a 34-3 shocker against the Jets – and cost themselves a playoff place. Like Indy, they can also sneak in – and they do play three losing teams in Jacksonville, the Chargers and the Broncos – but it may just be too late.

Sourse: skysports.com

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