Ignore This Weekend, the Chiefs Are the Team to Beat in the AFC
In most seasons, there's at least one pair of teams — one from each conference — that manages to separate from the pack and emerge as true Super Bowl contenders. Some years, it takes longer for that to happen than it does in others. The uber-competitive NFC has a few teams jockeying for position at the top, but after their recent victory, the Kansas City Chiefs have earned the rights to be the AFC's top dog.
At its core, this is the same Chiefs team that opened the 2021 campaign with a 3-4 record and appeared to be spiraling. With that said, many fans and pundits alike withheld their final judgments and instead had temporary reservations about the back-to-back conference champs. That patience is being rewarded, as the aforementioned core has led Kansas City to seven wins in a row.
The Chiefs have been given a longer leash than pretty much every team in recent memory. How many true Super Bowl contenders can have a losing record through Week 7, post some of the worst defensive numbers in the league and be an overall sloppy club, then figure things out in time to make a deep playoff run? Not many, but the Chiefs can and are.
In a year that features no clear-cut AFC team without weaknesses, Andy Reid's group has earned the benefit of the doubt. The Chiefs have battled back from adversity before, so it shouldn't come as a surprise that they're doing it once again. Mark Van Sickle of Arrowhead Report joined me on today's Roughing the Kicker podcast to recap the Chiefs' recent win over the Los Angeles Chargers and discuss what may be on the horizon for Kansas City.
Taking a look around at the conference landscape, the Chiefs have already lost to four probable playoff teams. The Chargers and the Baltimore Ravens each had one-score wins over the Chiefs this year, and both the Buffalo Bills and Tennessee Titans won in convincing fashion. A simple look at the Chiefs' conference record may indicate that they aren't capable of beating top-shelf opponents. While that criticism is fair, things are much different now than they were a couple of months ago.
The Chargers, under first-year head coach Brandon Staley and sophomore quarterback Justin Herbert, are a year away from seriously contending. They have some growing up to do. The Ravens have battled injuries, offensive underperformance, and defensive letdowns all year. The wheels on their wagon appear to be coming loose. The Bills, a team that looked like the conference's best group back in October, are suddenly just one game above .500. The Titans' best player is injured and without him, the offense hasn't been remotely the same.
Each of those teams have major things to work through. If we're looking for a true heavyweight that can keep up with the Chiefs deep into the playoffs, consider the New England Patriots. They're currently riding a lengthy winning streak of their own, Bill Belichick is as savvy as ever, and the Pats' defense is elite. There's only one problem: The Patriots can't rely on rookie quarterback Mac Jones — an intelligent but limited game-manager as a rookie — to go toe-to-toe with Patrick Mahomes and his complement of weapons in Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce.
Every team in the AFC is suspect. None of them are standing out in a major way, outside of the Chiefs. The team's struggles to run the ball effectively and get quality production from a second wide receiver are both concerning, but having the best player in football and a future Hall of Fame head coach is one heck of a start. The Chiefs have enough elsewhere to make a run, and they're starting to round into form. Regardless of whether they're the No. 1 seed by the end of Sunday's play, they're currently the best team in the AFC.
