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For years, the Kansas City Chiefs were the undisputed team to beat in the National Football League. That may no longer be the case.
The rest of the league may have caught up to Andy Reid’s team, and Patrick Mahomes hasn’t been as sharp in the past couple of weeks. That’s why, after losing two games in a row, the Chiefs made a discouraging slide in NFL.com’s weekly power rankings.
Following their Week 11 loss to the Denver Broncos, the Chiefs fell eight spots to No. 15.
“Hearing Patrick Mahomes almost acknowledge that the AFC West is gone was downright shocking. Yeah, he’s speaking reality, and of course Kansas City could make the playoffs as a dangerous wild-card team. But to hear Mahomes all but admit defeat in the Chiefs’ quest for a 10th straight division title was jarring to my ears. They’re ninth in the AFC playoff picture, and they’re staring at four straight pretty tough games, starting with the [Indianapolis] Colts at Arrowhead and the Thanksgiving game in Dallas four days later. We’re so used to the Chiefs coming out of the bye week razor sharp, but they never looked completely dialed in against Denver, even after taking the lead early in the fourth quarter. There’s still a playoff-caliber roster here, but multiple losing streaks in a single season is an identity crisis for Kansas City,” Eric Edholm wrote.
Not even the time off and rookie tackle Josh Simmons getting back on the field was enough to put the Chiefs back on track. Their chances of winning the AFC West may have slipped through their fingers.
The Chiefs’ upcoming schedule isn’t going to get much easier. They should take a playoff-like approach with no margin for error going forward.
That being said, this is still the Kansas City Chiefs. Making the playoffs from their current position in the AFC isn’t a given, but they will still be the last team anyone wants to come across in the postseason.
This wouldn’t be the first time someone said their dynasty is over, only for Mahomes to storm back and prove that wrong. It doesn’t seem that way right now, but betting against the Chiefs has rarely paid off in the long run.
NEXT: Andy Reid Shuts Down Concerns About Chiefs