Why the Chiefs Are Once Again Favorites

“The Eagles are going for a repeat,” Maaddi wrote Friday. “The Chiefs aren’t ready for the end of their dynasty.

“Pro Picks correctly predicted Philadelphia would defeat Kansas City in the Super Bowl last preseason. We’re going with a rematch but taking Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and Andy Reid’s Chiefs to win this time around.”

This time around

This time around, the Chiefs have a different pair of starters on the left side of their offensive line, rookie Josh Simmons at tackle and converted tackle Kingsley Suamataia at guard. They’ll be without Rashee Rice for the first six games but two reserves emerged with stellar preseasons, Tyquan Thornton and Jason Brownlee.

They also return a healthy Isiah Pacheco and Hollywood Brown, they’ve proven the deep ball is back in their offense, and they still have Chris Jones, Mahomes and Kelce.

“The division goes through Kansas City,” Maaddi added, predicting the Chiefs to beat Baltimore in the AFC championship game, “which has won nine straight titles and reached the conference championship game in each of Patrick Mahomes’ seven seasons as the starter. They have a rebuilt offensive line to protect Mahomes and playmakers to keep the offense going. On defense, the Chiefs have to stop the run better.”

Achilles' heel

And that could be an Achilles’ heel. While Jones and Nick Bolton didn’t play two weeks ago in their preseason loss at Seattle, Kansas City gave up 268 yards on the ground, including five bursts of 15-or-more yards.

This past week, the Chiefs addressed that letdown by releasing veteran starting defensive tackle Mike Pennel and trading for Derrick Nnadi, re-acquiring Nnadi from the Jets. No question, Omarion Hampton and Najee Harris will test Kansas City’s run defense early in Brazil on Friday (7 p.m. CT, YouTube, KSHB-TV, 96.5 The Fan).

Maaddi, however, picked the Chargers to finish third in the AFC West behind Kansas City and Denver. He picked the Raiders to finish last.

“Bo Nix led the Broncos to the playoffs as a rookie and could take a big leap in his second season,” Maaddi said. “A stingy defense led by AP Defensive Player of the Year Patrick Surtain II added key players in the offseason.

“Jim Harbaugh turned the Chargers into a winner in his first season. Justin Herbert has a new running back in rookie Omarion Hampton but lost a protector in left tackle Rashawn Slater. Pete Carroll and Geno Smith are reunited in Las Vegas, giving the Raiders reason for optimism. They’re still a year away.”