As the rest of the AFC continues to expose their weaknesses and inconsistencies, the Kansas City Chiefs cruise to their sixth straight win. The reigning Super Bowl champions are one of two teams left who have just one loss of the season, along with the Philadelphia Eagles.
Somehow, the most dominant team of the past five years have slipped under the radar. Throughout the season, the San Francisco 49ers, Eagles, Dallas Cowboys, Miami Dolphins and Detroit Lions have all taken the narrative as the NFL’s team to watch while the Chiefs quietly keep winning.
After the Dolphins lost to the Eagles this weekend, the Chiefs proved they are still the best team in the AFC. While it’s almost silly in itself that the Chiefs had to “prove” this, they have been relatively quiet this season. The majority of the narrative for Kansas City this season has revolved around Travis Kelce dating Taylor Swift as Swift attended her fourth Chiefs game.
In addition to the Swift-Kelce storyline creating a media frenzy, the Chiefs haven’t fully looked like themselves this year. They are obviously missing the same weaponry they’ve had in previous years as Kelce is their only bonafide pass-catcher. They’ve also won multiple of their games by “just” one-score, when they would usually be expected to win. To this point in the year, their only truly dominant game came in their 41-3 win over the Chicago Bears.
Even as their offense has lagged, their defense has come on strong. The Chiefs are second in points allowed and sixth in passing yards given up per game. However, their defense took a big hit when linebacker Nick Bolton dislocated his wrist versus the Chargers this past weekend and will have to miss two months, per Ian Shook of Around the NFL.
Outside of the Bolton injury, things are nothing but bright for the Chiefs as they took down the Chargers 31-17. The win was vintage Mahomes-Kelce as the quarterback went 32-42 for 424 yards with four touchdowns and an interception while Kelce had 12 receptions for 179 yards and a touchdown. Wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling looked good as well recording three catches for 84 yards and a touchdown. This was one of the Chiefs’ best offensive performances of the season, and one that puts them right atop the AFC again.
The other top contenders in the AFC include the Jacksonville Jaguars, Miami Dolphins, Buffalo Bills, Baltimore Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals. So how do they stack up compared to the Chiefs?
The Jaguars are riding a four-game win streak, but similarly to the Chiefs, they have a tendency to play down to their opponents. Jacksonville also lost to the Chiefs this season which means they are still a tier below Kansas City.
In the AFC East, the Dolphins offense has obviously lit up the NFL this season, but they’ve lost to the two teams they’ve faced who have winning records, so they remain unproven. The Bills had a dominant three-game stretch, but have looked like a shell of that team the past three games are their offense is sluggish and defense struggles through injuries. The Dolphins face the Chiefs in two weeks while the Bills head to Kansas City in November.
The AFC North has four strong teams, but the Browns and Steelers’ offenses will likely keep them from going far. The Ravens finally put together their most complete game of the year as they throttled the Detroit Lions 38-6. Prior to the win, Baltimore’s offense had been inconsistent at best, so they’ll have to repeat this play before it’s seen as their normal. Meanwhile the Bengals started to look like their normal selves after winning two straight. Joe Burrow is always a threat to the Chiefs, but Cincinnati has a ways to go before they’re seen as the better team over Kansas City after starting 1-3.
With all these teams exposing their flaws, it’s clear that until proven otherwise the AFC still runs through Kansas City.
