Ravens Named Biggest Threat to Chiefs' AFC Crown

The Kansas City Chiefs have ruled the AFC with an iron fist over the past several years, winning five of the past six conference championships to go along with three Super Bowls.

As such, the question everyone has been asking is who will, or even who can, knock the Chiefs off their throne.

The crew of NFL Network's "Good Morning Football" debated that topic once again recently, with two analysts landing on the Baltimore Ravens. Isaiah Stanback chose them because he believes Lamar Jackson, who has faced no shortage of criticism for his performance in the playoffs, will eventually put it all together at the right time.

"Whenever that switch does come on, it's going to be a complete problem," Stanback said. "We haven't seen the best version of Lamar Jackson when the playoffs show up, but yet they're still really competitive and they still get just right there. When his game comes over that hump, he's going to be absolutely unstoppable."

"Last year was a preview of what's to come, because that was their first year having Derrick Henry in the backfield, first time having an idea of what that tandem looks like. Now they add more weapons on the outside, these guys have a familiarity with each other, and now I think they can be in a position where they take that next step."

On the other hand, Isaac Rochelle picked the Ravens because of their strong defense, specifically shouting out All-Pro safety Kyle Hamilton.

"When I think about this defense and I think about Kyle Hamilton and guys like that, I think these are also guys that are going to make a huge impact," Rochelle said. "I know Kyle Hamilton. I texted him last night and said, 'I'm going to be on TV. Give me something about the Ravens,' and this is what he said: 'We are more focused on what we can do to be the best team we can be on Sundays, not about the opponent.' I think that's a team that's really focused on doing what they need to do. I think they're in a really good place."

Baltimore had its chance to dethrone Kansas City in the 2023 AFC Championship Game, but fell short in an agonizing 17-10 loss at home. The Chiefs would go on to win their second and third-straight Super Bowls in five years, defeating the San Francisco 49ers 22-19 in overtime in the latter.

If the Ravens want to be the ones to knock off the Chiefs, they'll have to bring their A-game, especially if they have to go on the road. Doing so has been extremely difficult for them in the playoffs, so they'll have to find a way to hit that extra gear.