A quick look at the New England Patriots possible playoff opponents

Kansas City Chiefs

Record: 9-6

Week 17 Opponent: Denver Broncos

Week 17 Scenarios: #4 seed regardless of all week 17 outcomes

Kansas City started the season off strong with a week 1 win in Foxboro, but they’ve certainly fallen off since then. The Chiefs were 5-0 before a week 6 loss to Pittsburgh. They’ve only managed to win 4 games since that point. KC had a four-game losing streak from week 9 through week 13, but they have won the last three. The Chiefs have defeated the Raiders, Chargers, and Dolphins in recent weeks, and they should get to 10 wins with a regular season finale against the Broncos.

Wide Receiver Tyreek Hill is the Chiefs leader in receiving yards and he also has 7 touchdowns. Tight end Travis Kelce has 8 touchdowns, but the real weapon on that offense is rookie running back Kareem Hunt. He has 1,292 rushing yards with 7 touchdowns and 455 receiving yards with 3 touchdowns. Hunt is electric, and he’d be extremely tough for the Patriots to contain in a playoff matchup. QB Alex Smith has also put together a better than average year with his 22 touchdowns and just 5 interceptions.

The questions for Kansas City come on the defensive side of the ball now. They’re 28th in yards allowed and 14th in points allowed. Those kinds of numbers will not get this team far in the playoffs, and the Patriots may not see them if they’re knocked out in the first round.