The Kansas City Chiefs find themselves in an unfamiliar spot as they prepare for their Week 14 game against the Houston Texans on Sunday night.
The Chiefs are currently on the outside looking in when it comes to the playoffs. Kansas City enters this week sitting in third place in the AFC West and in the No. 10 spot in the conference playoff picture.
Of course, the four division winners and the teams with the three best records after them make the playoffs, which means there are a total of seven postseason spots.
According to The New York Times' Playoff Simulator, the Chiefs have a 36% chance to make the postseason but just a 2% chance to win the division.
According to Ali Bhanpuri of NFL.com, the Chiefs' playoff chances will rise to 49% with a win but will fall to 11% with a loss.
Here's a look at where the Chiefs sit and what they need to happen this weekend in order to improve their playoff chances.
AFC West standings
| Rank | Team | Record |
| 1 | Denver Broncos | 10-2 |
| 2 | Los Angeles Chargers | 8-4 |
| 3 | Kansas City Chiefs | 6-6 |
| 4 | Las Vegas Raiders | 2-10 |
The Chiefs obviously need to win on Sunday night, but they also need the Broncos to lose to the Raiders and the Chargers to lose to the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday night to gain ground in the AFC West.
AFC playoff picture
| Rank | Team | Record |
| 1 | New England Patriots | 11-2 |
| 2 | Denver Broncos | 10-2 |
| 3 | Jacksonville Jaguars | 8-4 |
| 4 | Baltimore Ravens | 6-6 |
| 5 | Los Angeles Chargers | 8-4 |
| 6 | Indianapolis Colts | 8-4 |
| 7 | Buffalo Bills | 8-4 |
| 8 | Houston Texans | 7-5 |
| 9 | Pittsburgh Steelers | 6-6 |
| 10 | Kansas City Chiefs | 6-6 |
| 11 | Miami Dolphins | 5-7 |
| 12 | Cincinnati Bengals | 4-8 |
| 13 | New York Jets | 3-9 |
| 14 | Cleveland Browns | 3-9 |
| 15 | Las Vegas Raiders | 2-10 |
| 16 | Tennessee Titans | 1-11 |
The Chiefs can jump the Texans with a win, but they can also surpass the Steelers if they lose to the Ravens. If all that happens, the Chiefs will sit in the No. 8 spot entering Week 15 and they can't go any higher.
From there, the most ideal scenario is all the other teams in front of Kansas City lose so the Chiefs can gain ground.
Of course, that won't be possible with the Colts playing the Jaguars and the Steelers meeting the Ravens, but one of those teams losing in each matchup still helps the Chiefs.
The Patriots are on a bye, the Bills square off against the Bengals, and we already touched on the Chargers and Broncos in the previous section.
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