Aug 22, 2025; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid on field against the Chicago Bears during the first half of the game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images Denny Medley-Imagn Images

Why Chiefs' Concerning Trend Could Impact AFC West Race

Originally posted on Kansas City Chiefs on SI
By Michael Canelo | Last updated Aug 30, 2025 3:00 PM ET

The Kansas City Chiefs will be playing with something to prove all season. The Chiefs are ready to get their season kicked off. They have been ready since their Super Bowl loss from last season. That is when all the work started for the Chiefs this offseason. From that final whistle till the start of the new season, all the hard work will come out and show. The Chiefs are ready for all of it and more.

All offseason long, all the talk about the Chiefs has been about them not being a Super Bowl team going into this season. All the questions came out this offseason as well. Is Patrick Mahomes going to get worse? Is the Chiefs' dynasty over? What are they going to do with their offensive line? All the Chiefs have done this offseason is get to work, and they have shown some of it in the preseason games. You can see they are ready to prove a lot of people wrong.

The Chiefs know very well how to go about an NFL season. They know the goal is to win it all at the end, but there are steps they know they have to get to, if they want to reach another Super Bowl. One of those steps is making sure they win the AFC West for the tenth straight season. The Chiefs know that if they win the division, that also means they get a home game.

AFC West goes through the Chiefs

The AFC West has gotten better this offseason, but they are still going to have to go through the Chiefs. The Chiefs run the division, and until we see another team dethrone them, it is going to be hard to pick against them.

"Not overly considered in terms of the wide receiver position," said NFL analyst Tyler Sullivan of CBS Sports. "Especially when you have Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid still running the show here. The reason I am not concerned about this offense, as crazy as it sounds, does not have to do with Patrick Mahomes or Andy Reid."

"It is because I think they fixed the offensive line. It may be the most underrated story this summer is that of Josh Simmons, who had questions about his health, which is one of the reasons why he fell in the NFL Draft ... All of a sudden, Patrick Mahomes has his blind side protected."