{"id":27848,"date":"2025-07-09T22:54:28","date_gmt":"2025-07-09T22:54:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=27848"},"modified":"2025-07-09T22:55:55","modified_gmt":"2025-07-09T22:55:55","slug":"breaking-chiefs-credibility-gives-team-edge-in-afc-west-playoff-race","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=27848","title":{"rendered":"BREAKING : \ud83d\udd25 Chiefs\u2019 Hidden \ud83d\udd11 \u201cCredibility Advantage\u201d Could Tip the AFC West Playoff Race \ud83c\udfc6\u2014Are Rivals in Trouble?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/a.espncdn.com\/photo\/2017\/1204\/r298298_1296x729_16-9.jpg\" alt=\"The four simultaneous competitions inside 2017 AFC playoff race - NFL Super Bowl LII, divisional, wild-card picture - ESPN\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The\u00a0Kansas City Chiefs\u00a0have never failed to make it to the AFC Championship game in\u00a0Patrick Mahomes&#8217; tenure, and have won two out of the last three Super Bowls, while playing in the penultimate game last season; yet, their time is over.<\/p>\n<p>After the\u00a0Super Bowl loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, the Chiefs aren&#8217;t seen as the dominant AFC force they were. But does one loss really take away everything the franchise has done over the years? It appears so.<\/p>\n<p>Even in the division, which the Chiefs have won nine straight times, some have the\u00a0Los Angeles Chargers\u00a0dethroning Kansas City.<\/p>\n<p>However, as\u00a0NFL.com&#8217;s Eric Edholm writes, ranking the AFC West the third toughest division in football, the Chiefs&#8217; credibility gives them an edge in 2025.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;If this is something of a &#8220;last dance&#8221; season in Kansas City, with franchise icon\u00a0Travis Kelce\u00a0discussing retirement this offseason, then we could see another championship run from Andy Reid, Patrick Mahomes and the boys,&#8221;\u00a0Edholm writes. &#8220;The Chiefs&#8217; humiliating loss to\u00a0the Eagles\u00a0in Super Bowl LIX &#8212; after they logged a slew of narrow regular-season victories &#8212; has some questioning their chances, but the track record earns this team major credibility.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/athlonsports.com\/.image\/t_share\/MjExMjY4ODAwODAzMjUxOTAx\/usatsi_24843730.jpg\" alt=\"Andy Reid consults with Patrick Mahomes amid a game vs. the Carolina Panthers.\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Essentially, until we actually see the Chargers,\u00a0Denver Broncos, or\u00a0Las Vegas Raiders\u00a0win the division, it is as you were in the AFC West.<\/p>\n<p>Have those teams improved? No doubt, but so too have the Chiefs in the form of Rashee Rice returning and Marquise Brown, hopefully being available well before Week 16 this year.<\/p>\n<p>Some have the Chiefs falling off a cliff as the dynasty ends in 2025, but let&#8217;s not forget, just one game ago, this team was being talked about as the greatest ever.<\/p>\n<p>That doesn&#8217;t just go away.<\/p>\n<p>Nor will the Chiefs as AFC West favorites.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":27849,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27848","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-kansas-city-chiefs"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>BREAKING : \ud83d\udd25 Chiefs\u2019 Hidden \ud83d\udd11 \u201cCredibility Advantage\u201d Could Tip the AFC West Playoff Race \ud83c\udfc6\u2014Are Rivals in Trouble? 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