Kansas City Chiefs Can Get Playoff Bye With Win, New England Patriots' Loss, Odds Favor 2019 Champs

It’s a two-team race for the AFC’s No.2 seed in Week 17 of the 2019 NFL season. With the Baltimore Ravens having already clinched home-field advantage until Super Bowl LIV, the New England Patriots and Kansas City Chiefs are vying for the conference’s second first-round bye.

New England controls its own destiny, sitting a game ahead of Kansas City in the standings. The Patriots would clinch the No.2 seed with a victory Sunday afternoon. If the defending champs lose, the Chiefs can steal the No.2 seed with a win.

Kansas City owns the head-to-head tiebreaker because they won in Foxborough on Dec. 8.

Both teams are scheduled to play at 1 p.m. EST Sunday. The Patriots will host the Miami Dolphins. The Chiefs will play at home against the Los Angeles Chargers.

A win for Miami would be the biggest upset of the entire year. The Dolphins are 16-point underdogs, according to OddsShark.

New England has -1000 odds to win straight up at multiple sportsbooks. The best Miami moneyline is +650, though some oddsmakers give the Dolphins +750 odds.

The Patriots beat the Dolphins 43-0 in Miami in Week 2. Antonio Brown and Josh Gordon, who have since been released by New England, played for the Patriots in that game.

In the unlikely event that the Patriots lose, the Chiefs could be on their way to the AFC’s second-best record. Kansas City is up to a nine-point favorite at home.

The highest Chiefs’ moneyline is -430. The Chargers are given around +320 odds to win straight up.

The Chiefs beat the Chargers 24-17 in Mexico City on Nov. 18.

A moneyline parlay with Miami and Kansas City has approximately +824 odds, at best.

Since losing Patrick Mahomes’ first game back from a knee injury, the Chiefs have won five games in a row. The Patriots beat the Buffalo Bills in Week 16 to improve their record to 5-0 in the AFC East.

New England beat Kansas City at Arrowhead Stadium in the 2019 AFC Championship Game. The Patriots and Chiefs had the top two seeds in last year’s playoffs.