Ranking the Chiefs' 5 Biggest AFC Rivals After Stefon Diggs Trade

The Bills pulled off a shocking trade on Wednesday morning, sending star WR Stefon Diggs to the Houston Texans for draft compensation while taking on $31 million in dead money on the salary cap.

Immediate implications make the Texans a legitimate contender and leave the Bills with Curtis Samuel and Khalil Shakur to lead a suddenly underwhelming WR group. Kansas City is still the betting favorite to win the AFC for good reason, but there are several teams who could compete with the Chiefs.

With that in mind, let's reevaluate the AFC landscape and look at the five biggest threats to Kansas City's throne. Threats make rivalries, and these teams are the most ready to challenge the Chiefs.

5 Biggest AFC Threats to Chiefs After Stefon Diggs Trade

1. Houston Texans

The betting odds above have the Ravens listed over the Texans, but I disagree with that assessment. We saw Baltimore's best effort fall short against Kansas City in the AFC Championship game at home, and there are good reasons to expect a step back from the Ravens. They'll be good, but Houston might be building something special.

C.J. Stroud a rising star and future MVP candidate after throwing for 4,108 yards with 23 TDs and just five interceptions in his rookie year. Throwing Stefon Diggs, who has six consecutive 1,000-yards seasons, into a WR room that already has promising youngsters Nico Collins and Tank Collins immediately gives the Texans one of the NFL's best offenses led by a well-respected OC in Bobby Slowik.

Led by high draft picks Will Anderson Jr. and Derek Stingley, Houston's defense has a strong foundation as well. This team is built to compete both now and in the future, and their commitment to youth that can develop together will likely result in several playoff games against the Chiefs over the next half-decade.

I'll take Mahomes and the Chiefs every chance I get, but the Texans look to be next in line among the many who have tried to snatch Kansas City's crown.

No one can match the Chiefs' championship experience right now, though Houston may be the only team who can match the organization's promising future.

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2. Baltimore Ravens

You could make the case for Baltimore at the No. 1 spot and betting odds certainly do, but it's hard to ignore Lamar Jackson's playoff record and how miserable the Ravens' offense looked in that AFC Championship game.

Baltimore is 2-5 in their last seven playoff games, though they still fielded a top-five offense and defense last year. Jackson is the youngest two-time MVP in NFL history for a reason, so I imagine the Chiefs will be seeing him in the playoffs again. Perhaps this time their coaching staff won't completely abandon the run.

While I don't outright fear the Ravens, you can't pretend they're not a talented roster capable of beating the Chiefs. The likelihood may not be high, but there's a path for Baltimore to make the Super Bowl.

Jackson is still one of the best QBs in the sport surrounded by quality weapons like Mark Andrews, Zay Flowers, Isaiah Likely and a stout offensive line. Their defense has rising stars like Kyle Hamilton and John Harbaugh is one of the NFL's best coaches.

We'll see the Ravens again, and they'll likely be better prepared this time around.

3. Cincinnati Bengals

In terms of pure rivalries, the Bengals should be No. 1 on this list. Joe Burrow is the only QB outside of Tom Brady to have actually beaten Patrick Mahomes in the playoffs, and we know Cincinnati can go toe-to-toe with Kansas City on any given Sunday.

Burrow's injuries doomed Cincinnati's season in 2023 and they'll be back with a vengeance this next year. Their offense will look different in 2024, but as long as they've got Burrow and Ja'Marr Chase, they'll be dangerous.

That said, Joe Mixon is now with the Texans, Tyler Boyd is a free agent and Tee Higgins could still be traded, while their defense is declining and losing valuable pieces. I'd be confident facing Cincinnati in the playoffs, espeically after the Chiefs finally beat the Bengals in the AFC Championship game in 2022. That's why they're lower on this list despite the intense history of this rivalry.

I wanted to share the above tweet as a reminder that despite the Bengals' 3-1 record over the Chiefs in the Mahomes/Burrow era, Kansas City is still the team with the rings. Cincinnati fell short in the Super Bowl against the Rams and that may have been their best chance to get a Lombardi Trophy.

Burrow's injury history is a legitimate concern and the Bengals play in one of the toughest divisions in the NFL.

I wouldn't be surprised to see Cincinnati back in the AFC title game, nor would I be surprised to see the miss the playoffs entirely.

4. Buffalo Bills

The Bills are entering a new era. They've lost Stefon Diggs, Tre'Davious White, Jordan Poyer, Mitch Morse and others, signaling a "rebuild" as they hope to open a new championship window.

Of course, the word rebuild needs to be in quotations there because they've still got a freakazoid at QB in Josh Allen capable of winning games single-handedly. Two of the most difficult Chiefs' playoff games in Mahomes' tenure have come against Buffalo in large part due to Allen's brilliance.

Kansas City is 3-0 against the Bills in the playoffs in this stretch, but the last two games could've easily gone the other way. As long as Allen is under center in Buffalo, the Bills will be dangerous.

I expect Buffalo to draft a talented WR in the first round. Along with Dawson Knox, Dalton Kincaid, James Cook, Khalil Shakir and Curtis Samuel, this is still a capable offense that'll likely rank among the NFL's best even without Diggs.

Allen's legs make him one of the most dangerous, versatile weapons in the league. I'd expect to see more of the "Superhero" version of Allen, and this might be the year he finally gets his MVP.

Nonetheless, I'm going to have to see him beat Mahomes in the playoffs before I'm too worried about the rivalry.

5. Los Angeles Chargers

Keenan Allen and Mike Williams are no longer on the roster, though the Chargers have the No. 5 overall pick in the draft and now have a proven head coach in Jim Harbaugh. They'll likely add Malik Nabors or Rome Odunze in the draft to take over as the top receiving option, and Justin Herbert is one of the most talented QBs in the league.

Brandon Staley held this roster back. They'd be a better team purely due to addition by subtraction without Staley, but Harbaugh has been to a Super Bowl, found success at every stop in his coaching career and just won a national championship at Michigan. The Chargers are coming and will be a threat down the line, though I don't think this is the year they can truly compete with the Chiefs.

Throws like this will keep analysts picking the Chargers to dethrone the Chiefs. Herbert needs to be more aggressive in games and I expect we'll see his best work yet under Harbaugh, a proven QB guru.

I think the Los Angeles is still a year away from true competitiveness given the relatively poor state of the aging roster, though they should be much better than last place in the AFC West.

Getting into the playoffs as a wild card team this year feels realistic, then they can take a step forward to truly compete for the AFC crown in 2025-26. Would it stun me if Harbaugh turns this ship around quicker?

No, but I wouldn't bet on it either. The Chiefs are the clear class of the AFC and everyone else is playing for second place.

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