Rival AFC Team Given Laughable Shot to Dethrone Chiefs

The Kansas City Chiefs have won the AFC West for nine consecutive seasons and hope to make it a 10th consecutive season. The Chiefs have dominated the division for the last decade, all but shutting out their AFC West foes from the playoffs more times than not.

While the AFC West sent three teams to the playoffs, many still believe the Chiefs should be favored to win the division again. With Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes running the show, it is fair to assume as much, as nine seasons is a big enough sample size to help come to that conclusion.

Aaron Schatz of ESPN recently ranked each team that finished in last place in their respective division's chances of going from worst in the division to first in the division. While some of those teams have a legitimate shot, Schatz does not believe the Las Vegas Raiders are one of those teams.

"Look, the [Buffalo] Bills and [Baltimore] Ravens have had a horrible time trying to get past Patrick Mahomes in the playoffs over the past couple of seasons. You expect the Raiders to get past him in the regular season? The idea of the Raiders finishing first seems even less likely when we consider the Broncos and Chargers were both playoff teams a year ago," Schatz said

"Los Angeles or Denver have a much better chance of leading the AFC West if Kansas City fell off due to injury or other reasons."

Schatz believes the Raiders are one of the teams least likely to go from worst to first in the division. Still, he noted that while the Raiders' chances of winning the division are slim, they may have a shot at the playoffs this upcoming season.

"However, the idea of Las Vegas as a playoff contender is not necessarily ridiculous, particularly thanks to the addition of veteran QB Geno Smith. Although Las Vegas ranks at sixth here in overall division odds, it is fourth in playoff odds out of all eight teams," Schatz said.

While the Los Angeles Chargers and Denver Broncos were playoff teams last season and could quietly have a shot at winning the AFC West instead of the Chiefs, Schatz does not like the idea of the Raiders being the team to do so for the first time in 10 seasons.

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