Chiefs get even closer to No. 1 AFC seed in win over Texans - ESPN

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Chiefs did themselves a favor in terms of securing the AFC's No. 1 playoff seed by beating the Houston Texans 27-19 on Saturday at Arrowhead Stadium.

The Chiefs now have a 91% chance of being the No. 1 seed, according to ESPN Analytics. The top seed carries a first-round playoff bye and home field advantage.

They need to either win one of their final two regular season games or have the Buffalo Bills lose any of their remaining three games to clinch the top spot. Kansas City would have had a 62% chance at the No. 1 seed had it lost to the Texans.

QB breakdown: Patrick Mahomes can be effective with his high-ankle sprain. He didn't have his best game but was good enough for the Chiefs to win. He scored the Chiefs' first touchdown on a 15-yard scramble and also had a 12-yard scramble on the drive.

Most surprising performance: Wide receiver Hollywood Brown had a promising game for a player who hasn't been in a game since suffering a sternoclavicular injury during the preseason. Brown didn't play a lot but caught five passes for 45 yards. One came on fourth down, another on third down. Both plays delivered the Chiefs a fresh set of downs.

Troubling trend: The Chiefs, a week after producing five sacks against the Cleveland Browns, had trouble getting pressure on C.J. Stroud. He was sacked once and was otherwise pressured only occasionally. The Browns game was the outlier. The Chiefs have struggled to pressure and sack the opposing quarterback most of the season. — Adam Teicher

Next game: at Pittsburgh Steelers (Wednesday, 1 p.m. ET, Netflix)

The Texans lost three starters on Saturday at key positions in right guard Shaq Mason, wideout Tank Dell, and safety Jimmie Ward. Dell's injury came off