We know that the Kansas City Chiefs have navigated a rough stretch to begin the 2025 season, but now we are seeing the AFC champs get their full array of weapons available, and that familiar feeling for the rest of the NFL might be sinking in.
"Not the Chiefs again."
After a 0-2 start, there was a thought that the dynasty was over, but now at 4-3 and looking like a genuine Super Bowl contender, the rest of the league is on notice.
And it appears the media knows that the Chiefs are back too, with CBS Sports' Jared Dubin putting all 32 teams into four tiers of "draft preparations", "the fringe," the "outer circle" and the "inner circle" and it isn't hard to guess which tier Kansas City is in -- tier 1 along with the Detroit Lions, Buffalo Bills and Los Angeles Rams.
"The Chiefs are rounding into form, winning four of their past five games and looking as explosive offensively as we've seen them in years," Dubin writes. "Their defense has also stepped it up lately in a way that it hadn't early in the season. That unit is coming off its best performance of the season. We also know that the Chiefs are annually in the conference title game and have gone to three consecutive Super Bowls."
More: Why a Chiefs move for Breece Hall makes zero sense
Chiefs are back in more ways than one
Not only is Kansas City "back" from a performance-based view on the field, on both sides of the ball, but it is in the thick of the AFC West race (again) and is now seen as one of the Super Bowl favorites.
For a 4-3 team, that shows the aura of Andy Reid's team and what many believe it is capable of because you have Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, Reid, Chris Jones, and others who have been there, and done that for multiple years -- they know how to win.
The Chiefs are tricky to navigate in the regular season, but come playoff time? They are every team's bogeyman (except the Bengals, really).
The shadow of Mahomes looms large, given his history of ripping out teams' hearts in the final minutes (mainly Buffalo, those poor souls), so teams often go away from their normal plan because of No. 15.
Yes, we are a long way from playoff football, but once again, the AFC has a familiar feel to it as to who will be the team everyone has to beat to make it to the Super Bowl.
More Chiefs news: