A wild twist on the final day of the regular season has shaken up the AFC playoff race.
The Kansas City Chiefs had the opportunity to grab the No. 2 seed and a bye in the AFC playoffs, but they needed two things to go their way. They needed to beat the Los Angeles Chargers at home, and they needed the New England Patriots to suffer an unlikely home loss to the Miami Dolphins. That would mean both teams finished 12-4, with the Chiefs holding the tiebreaker due to their head-to-head win.
The Chiefs handled their business with a 31-21 home win over the Chargers, but the real shock came in Foxboro. A Ryan Fitzpatrick touchdown pass with 24 seconds left gave the Dolphins a stunning 27-24 win against the Patriots, dropping the Patriots to the No. 3 seed and giving the Chiefs the bye they desperately wanted.
The @MiamiDolphins take the lead with 24 seconds left! #FinsUp
: #MIAvsNE on CBS
: NFL app // Yahoo Sports app
Watch free on mobile: https://t.co/HYJhHN7b2Y pic.twitter.com/XQvxCCe3Vv— NFL (@NFL) December 29, 2019
The Patriots will not know their opponent until after the late slate of games, as the No. 6 seed in the AFC is very unsettled. The fact that they will even have a wildcard weekend opponent is a shock given their dominance at home and the fact that the Dolphins had 11 losses coming into Sunday.
New England looked in line for the bye after staving off a tough Buffalo Bills team last week to clinch the division. That was a win that even had Bill Belichick smiling. He won’t be grinning after this one.
