When the Kansas City Chiefs sat their starters in Week 18, they essentially handed the No. 7 AFC seed to the Denver Broncos, who they were playing against at home. They had nothing to play for, having already locked up the No. 1 seed and a first-round bye.
The Cincinnati Bengals not only needed the Jets to beat the Dolphins, but they needed the Chiefs to beat the Broncos. They didn’t. In fact, the Broncos beat the Chiefs by a score of 38-0, which sealed the deal for the 9-8 Bengals.