The Chiefs’ reign atop the AFC West is officially over.
With Sunday night’s loss to the Texans, Kansas City has been mathematically eliminated from contention for the division crown - snapping a remarkable run of nine straight AFC West titles. That streak, which began back in 2016, predates even Patrick Mahomes’ rise to the starting quarterback role. And now, for the first time in nearly a decade, the AFC West will have a new king.
Let that sink in for a second. For nine seasons, the Chiefs were the standard in the division - a run that included Super Bowl appearances, MVP-level quarterback play, and a level of consistency most franchises only dream about.
But with Kansas City now sitting at 6-7, even a perfect finish to the regular season would only get them to 10-7. That’s not enough to catch Denver, who picked up their 11th win on Sunday and secured the edge in the standings.
To put this in perspective, the Chiefs’ nine-year divisional dominance is the second-longest streak in NFL history, trailing only the Patriots’ 11 straight AFC East titles from 2009 to 2019. That’s elite company - and a reminder of just how rare this kind of sustained success really is in the NFL.
Now, the focus shifts to survival. Kansas City currently sits 10th in the AFC playoff picture, and the road to the postseason is looking steep. The margin for error is razor-thin, and the schedule doesn’t exactly offer a soft landing.
Up next: a home game against the Chargers, followed by a road trip to Tennessee. Then comes a Christmas Day showdown with the Broncos - a team that’s already clinched a better record than the Chiefs - before closing out the regular season in Las Vegas against the Raiders.
In other words, if Kansas City wants to extend its season beyond Week 18, it’ll need to win out and get some help along the way. The offense will have to find another gear, the defense can’t afford any slip-ups, and Mahomes will need to summon some of that late-season magic we’ve seen before.
The dynasty talk may be on pause, but don’t count this team out just yet. The Chiefs have been too good for too long to go quietly. But for now, the AFC West is officially up for grabs - and for the first time in nearly a decade, it won’t be running through Kansas City.