Kansas City Chiefs clinch fourth consecutive AFC West title
By Matt Conner
The Kansas City Chiefs clinched their fourth consecutive AFC West title with their win over the New England Patriots, aided by the Raiders loss on Sunday.
The Kansas City Chiefs have never before enjoyed such a run of success like this one.
When Andy Reid and the Chiefs clinched the AFC West title back in 2017, they celebrated the first-ever consecutive division titles in franchise history. In short, in nearly 60 years as a team, the Chiefs had never once held back their rivals long enough to be king of the hill for two straight seasons.
With their 23-16 win over the New England Patriots on Sunday, the Chiefs made it four straight division titles—furthering their current franchise record. It’s an unparalleled stretch for the Chiefs, and given how good they look this season, with such a young roster, it’s hard to imagine any team being able to upend them soon—at least among their division rivals.
Having Patrick Mahomes under center is going to make the Chiefs the automatic division favorite each and every year for the foreseeable future. The Chiefs defense now looks better than they have in a few years, and the young skill position players make the offense difficult to stop. It would almost be an upset if the Chiefs weren’t able to run the streak to five or more.
Yet it’s not the right approach to think that far ahead. The reality is the present is the ideal time to stop and reflect on just how rare this streak is for the team. The Chiefs have never been this good before, and they’re staying on top no matter what their opponents are coming up with. That’s a testament to Reid and his coaching staff along with the front office who has been able to maintain the talent level each year with fresh signings and draft picks.
The Oakland Raiders have some good young players and are clearly better than they were a year or two ago. The Denver Broncos might have a real quarterback of the future in Drew Lock. The L.A. Chargers still have quite a bit of talent on both sides of the ball despite their record. None of that matters, however, in the face of what the Chiefs have done.
Here’s to four consecutive division titles and an amazing run of success. Let’s hope it doesn’t stop there but instead culminates with the team’s first Super Bowl victory in 50 years!