The KC Chiefs have won the AFC West the past four years and are going to win the division again in 2020.
It should come as a shock to no one that the Kansas City Chiefs are favored to win the AFC West in 2020, which would give them their fifth straight division title. If they do win the AFC West again this season, it’d be the first time the Chiefs have ever won the division in five consecutive seasons.
It’s no surprise that the reigning Super Bowl champs are once again favored to win the division again and now we’ll take a look at three reasons as to why the Chiefs will wear the AFC West champion t-shirts on the field once again.
3. Domination Over Division
Over the past few years, Andy Reid and the Kansas City Chiefs have straight up dominated the AFC West. This past year saw them go 6-0 against their divisional foes and only one of the six games was close. The rest were pretty big blowouts favoring the Chiefs.
According to Sports Illustrated, the Chiefs have gone 27-3 against their divisional foes since the 2015 season with the three losses coming to the Broncos in 2015, Raiders in 2017, and Chargers in 2018. Otherwise, it’s been all Kansas City in the AFC West.
That will continue in 2020 because of the next reason on our list…
2. No Other Team is Up to Snuff
Look, say all that you want about what the Broncos did this offseason, especially in the draft, but there’s no way they’re anywhere close to contending with the Chiefs. Denver will be heavily relying on Drew Lock taking the next step and becoming the quarterback they hope he can be, but he’s played in just five games.
There’s film on Lock now and that’s going to make things much tougher for him in year two. Not to mention that the one time Lock played against a good defense, which was against the Chiefs, he did not fare well.
It was only two years ago that the Chargers were going toe-to-toe with Kansas City in the division and handed them a late season loss. Both teams finished with a 12-4 record in 2018, but the advantage went to the Chiefs, who won their then-third division title.
While Los Angeles still has that dominant defense that helped them be such a good team in 2018, their offense has a new look at the game’s most important position – Quarterback. That’s going to set them back and while they’ll be better than they were a season ago, they won’t come close to winning the AFC West.
Last, but not least we have the Raiders, who are heading into their first year as Las Vegas residents. In 2016, the Raiders and Chiefs both finished with a 12-4 record and, in all honesty, the Raiders should have been 13-3 that year and won the AFC West. A late season injury to Derek Carr ruined their chances of winning their first division title in over a decade.
A lot has changed since then for the Raiders though, as Carr getting injured wouldn’t hurt the team that badly now. There’s even a chance that Marcus Mariota takes over the reins for the Raiders at some point during the 2020 season.
The Raiders are more than likely going to be the worst team in the division and don’t have a shot at contending with the Chiefs.
The Chiefs have far and away the best quarterback in the division and with how much this league revolves around being able to throw the ball, Kansas City’s domination shouldn’t be shocking.
1. Chiefs Roster Mostly Stayed Intact
Usually when teams win a Super Bowl, it’s common for them to lose a lot of their prime talent to other teams. That didn’t happen for the KC Chiefs though, as they only lost two defensive starters and neither was a crucial loss.
Offensively, the Chiefs were mostly hit hard in the opt outs, as their starting right guard and running back both chose not to play this year. Even still, the team had options to fill those voids and really won’t lose much production, if any, as a result.
It’s rare for a team to keep nearly everyone that was on the team when they hoisted the Lombardi Trophy, but the Chiefs did just that and it’s a big reason as to why they’ll repeat as AFC West champions for the fifth straight year.
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Obviously there are surprises every year in every division and it’s possible for one of the other three AFC West teams to come out of nowhere and really put up a fight. The Raiders did this in 2016 and the Chargers did so in 2018, but the Chiefs are just head and shoulders better than their AFC West foes.
Another reason that could have been included here is that the postseason has been expanded and there will only be one team in each conference to receive a first round bye in the playoffs. That’s extra motivation for the Chiefs and will certainly be on their minds as they look to run it back in 2020.
The only thing that could really put a damper on the Chiefs’ hopes of winning their fifth straight division title would be if an injury happened to a key contributor or if a COVID-19 outbreak were to occur in the Kansas City clubhouse. Otherwise, it should be smooth sailing for the Super Bowl champs to win yet another AFC West title.
What do you think, Chiefs fans? Will it be a clean sweep for the KC Chiefs in their quest for a fifth straight AFC West championship?