Someone laughably picked the Chiefs to finish third in the AFC West

There's no other way to say this -- The Kansas City Chiefs have flat-out dominated the AFC West over the past decade. The Chiefs have won nine straight division titles and went 5-1 in the AFC West a season ago (and the one loss deserves an asterisk next to it since K.C. wasn't putting its best foot forward in that one).

Even with the Chiefs' divisional dominance over the past nine seasons, it doesn't stop people from picking another team to win the AFC West every offseason. The latest to fall into this trap is Pro Football Network, who not only didn't pick K.C. to win the division in 2025 but had the Chiefs finishing third (yes, THIRD) this year. In this simulation, the Broncos took the division with a 12-5 record with the Chargers coming in second and K.C. snagging the bronze medal.

"The Chiefs have won nine straight division titles, the second-longest streak in NFL history behind the Patriots’ 11-year run from 2009-19. But according to this simulation, Kansas City’s reign of terror over the AFC West is finally over.
Don’t bury Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid too quickly, as the Chiefs still made the playoffs at 10-7. But that was good for only third in the brutal AFC West, with the Broncos beating the Chargers in Week 18 to clinch the division at 12-5. The Raiders finished last at 6-11, with a 1-5 division record dooming Pete Carroll’s crew."

Wild prediction drops Chiefs to third in AFC West (yes, seriously)

One would think that until the Chiefs don't win the division, the AFC West is theirs to lose but people have been falling into the Broncos and Chargers trap for many years now. With those two teams playing well in 2024, it makes sense that the hype would be bigger than ever so this isn't exactly a surprise.

The fact of the matter is though, the Chiefs have controlled the narrative in the AFC West for nearly an entire decade and until they don't win it, they deserve the benefit of the doubt here. Let's see the Broncos and Chargers prove they can actually do it before we crown them as the division champs.

Until that time comes, it's the Chiefs' division to lose. People might not like that but the three-time defending AFC champions aren't going anywhere and it's well past time to get used to that.