Compiled by the Dos Mundos Sports Staff
Given the longtime rivalry between the Kansas City Chiefs and Denver Broncos, one probably wouldn’t expect the Chiefs to be Broncos fans.
But they are. Or at least they were on Sunday (Jan. 1), Chiefs coach Andy Reid suggested following Kansas City’s 37-27 win over San Diego at Qualcomm Stadium.
“We appreciate them…. They helped us out,” Reid said of the Broncos during his postgame press conference, which streamed online in video and audio-only formats.
Indeed, the Broncos helped the Chiefs secure the No. 2 AFC playoff seed. As was reported before Kansas City’s meeting with San Diego, the Chiefs needed to win the regular-season finale and Denver needed to defeat Oakland on Sunday for Kansas City to win the AFC West title and be seeded second. A Denver loss would give the division title and second seed to Oakland, meaning the Chiefs would make the playoffs as a wild card, but would have to start their playoff run this weekend (Jan. 7 and 8) on the road.
The Broncos defeated the Raiders 24-6.
By securing the second seed, the Chiefs (12-4) will have a first-round bye. They’ll play a to-be-determined opponent at 12:05 p.m. on Jan. 15 at Arrowhead Stadium.
In an interview with Kendall Gammon for the Chiefs Radio Network, Chiefs offensive lineman Mitchell Schwartz – who joined the team this season as a free-agent signee – said he was anxious “to see what Arrowhead looks like for a home playoff game.” Reid suggested during his press conference that he’s looking forward to coaching at home.
“I think that’s … (an) advantage with our crowd,” Reid said. “I just think they’re the 12th man in that thing, and we appreciate them.”
