Patrick Mahomes Says It's 'Important' for Chiefs to Secure AFC's No. 1 Seed, Bye

Home-field advantage doesn't quite count for as much when a stadium isn't filled to capacity, but securing the No. 1 seed in the AFC remains a priority for Kansas City Chiefs star Patrick Mahomes.

During an appearance on 610 Sports Radio's The Drive in Kansas City, Missouri, Mahomes highlighted how finishing as the top team would mean bypassing the Wild Card Round in the NFL playoffs.

"Yeah, it is important," he said. "We believe that no matter what happened [with COVID], we'd have a chance to find ways to win games and make our run. To be the No. 1 seed now, you gotta make sure you hold on to it, get that bye, get everyone healthy ... in the AFC you're gonna play a great team no matter [the seed]."

Under the old playoff format, the top two seeds in each conference got safe passage to the divisional round. That's not the case in 2020 after the NFL expanded the postseason from 12 to 14 teams.

As Mahomes outlined, having a week off will be a massive luxury given the physical and mental strain players have had to endure while competing during a global pandemic.

The Pittsburgh Steelers and Tennessee Titans, for example, had to take their bye in Week 4 because of positive COVID-19 tests within the Titans organization. Those teams will have played for 13 straight weeks when the playoffs begin, so they'd surely welcome getting to skip Wild Card Weekend.

Alas, the 9-4 Titans have a lot of ground to make up on the Chiefs, and the Steelers are a game behind Kansas at 11-2 following a 26-15 loss to the Buffalo Bills on Sunday night.

At -137 (bet $137 to win $100), the Chiefs are the heavy favorites at DraftKings to win the AFC, followed by Pittsburgh (+525) and Buffalo (+575). Should Kansas City clinch the No. 1 seed, its odds of reigning supreme in the conference would likely strengthen.

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