KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Kansas City Chiefs fell to 7-4 after losing 24-20 on Thursday night to the Oakland Raiders. Here is our weekly look at the Chiefs’ place in the AFC playoff picture.

Where the Chiefs stand: They are 7-4 and tied for second place in the AFC West with the San Diego Chargers. The Denver Broncos lead the AFC West at 8-3. The other AFC division leaders are New England (9-2), Cincinnati (7-3-1) and Indianapolis (7-4).

If the season ended today: The Chiefs would be the second of the AFC’s two wild-card teams and the sixth overall seed in the conference playoffs. The Chiefs are one of four AFC teams not in first place to have a 7-4 record. The Baltimore Ravens can make it five by winning tonight against the Saints in New Orleans. Because of tiebreakers, the Chiefs would rank second among those teams, behind only the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Chiefs would be headed to play the Bengals in Cincinnati for their wild-card round playoff game. The 7-3-1 Bengals are in first place in the AFC North.

Chiefs this week and what it means: The Chiefs have a lot on the line in Sunday night's game against the Broncos at Arrowhead. A win moves them back into a tie for the division lead. A loss ends all realistic hope of winning the AFC West championship for the Chiefs.

Other games to watch this week: In games involving 7-4 AFC teams not in first place, Pittsburgh is home against New Orleans, Cleveland is at Buffalo and San Diego is at Baltimore.