The AFC West for the Kansas City Chiefs appears to be all but over. Even worse, there is a glaring postseason prediction that paints the former Super Bowl champions in an even worse light. More news: Falcons’ Fear Michael Penix Suffered Season-Ending Injury There is no denying that the Chiefs, Patrick Mahomes, Andy Reid, and the whole organization have built a dynasty. The issue is that the dynasty may have hit some significant roadblocks. In 2024, the Chiefs found a way to not only win multiple games by one score but to essentially force their way into the Super Bowl despite being hit with a multitude of injuries. Isiah Pachecho, Hollywood Brown, and more missed a good portion of the season. The injuries caught up with Kansas City, as they were handily beaten by the Eagles in the Super Bowl. Now, it appears that the team has clearly been impacted by much more in 2025. Patrick Mahomes has been sacked 20 times thus far this season, which is not the worst in the league, but it places him in the top 15. The Chiefs lost Joe Thuney to the Chicago Bears, and the offensive line has clearly missed a step. More news: Steelers’ Aaron Rodgers Receives Injury Update After Suffering Apparent Fracture Mahomes was the leading rusher on the team, and still remains in third with 288 yards. This trails Isiah Pacheco with 329 yards, and Kareem Hunt with 353. The offense for the Chiefs has also appeared to have taken a step back. All of things coupled with the fact that the team has now lost to the Eagles and the Denver Broncos paints a clear picture that the AFC West will not belong to the former Super Bowl champions. Even worse, there are growing concerns that Mahomes and company can even make the playoffs. In a new report from ESPN’s Dan Graziano, he released the Week 11 overreactions, and one is all about the Chiefs losing the AFC West to the Broncos. However, he also draws out a reality where Kansas City misses the playoffs completely. “The Chiefs have a ton of work to do just to get a wild-card spot. Sunday’s result makes the math incredibly daunting in terms of extending their division title streak to an even decade. The Chiefs are also 1. 5 games behind the second-place Chargers in the AFC West and lost to them in Week 1, so they’d be behind Los Angeles in the head-to-head tiebreaker, too (though they do play both the Chargers and the Broncos one more time). But the main reason this isn’t an overreaction is because the Broncos deserve their respect,” Graziano wrote. Graziano has a major point in that the 5-5 Chiefs have a lot of work to do to even land a wild card spot in the highly competitive AFC. In the current picture, the Chiefs sit behind the fellow 5-5 Houston Texans. Both are on the outside looking in to the No. 7 seed Jacksonville Jaguars at 6-4, and the No. 6 seed 7-4 Los Angeles Chargers, and No. 5 seed 7-3 Buffalo Bills. Simply put, there are multiple teams that have showcased they might stay put in terms of seeding. There is plenty of football left to play, and it would be silly to completely count out the Chiefs at this juncture. However, their glaring offensive issues continue to be amplified every week. It is a safe bet to state the Broncos will win the AFC West, but it might also be a bit evident the Chiefs could miss the playoffs for the first time since the 2014 season.
https://www.newsweek.com/sports/nfl/chiefs-receive-glaring-postseason-prediction-following-loss-to-broncos-11059736
