KC Chiefs Super Bowl chances dropped given AFC West perfection
By Matt Conner
In case you missed the complete results of the AFC West in Week 1 for the National Football League, the division ran the tables on their opponents. Not only were the K.C. Chiefs able to put away the Cleveland Browns in a fourth-quarter comeback at home, but the rest of the AFC West rivals followed suit.
Everyone is 1-0.
That makes for an exciting path forward, at least in the interim, as everyone involved hopes to continue their winning streak and keep pace with one another. Other than the sake of competition, however, the favorites also found their chances of even making the Super Bowl drop by a percentage point after the West went undefeated in Week 1.
The AFC West went undefeated and the KC Chiefs Super Bowl chances dropped accordingly.
FanSided’s own Matt Lombardo got the latest figures from Football Outsiders in his latest column when it comes to Super Bowl chances and noted the difference after the Denver Broncos, Los Angeles Chargers, and Las Vegas Raiders won their opening contests.
"According to Football Outsiders, the Chiefs chances of making the Super Bowl dropped from 29.6 percent to 28.6."
Of course, the Chiefs are still expected to represent the AFC above any others at that rate, but the division might be a tougher race than anyone initially believed before the season began.
The Broncos have a championship-caliber defense, without a doubt, but the offense is questionable with the tandem of Teddy Bridgewater and Drew Lock at the top of the team’s depth chart. Bridgewater looked good on Sunday’s win over the New York Giants, but is he suddenly a franchise QB?
The Chargers always look like a potential sleeper pick for the postseason but injuries take their toll. Perhaps this is the year after a solid offseason investment in protecting Justin Herbert. As for the Raiders, they beat the Baltimore Ravens for an impressive win in Week 1, but no one believes in Jon Gruden at this point.
No one in Chiefs Kingdom should even be remotely worried about the division at this rate, especially after so many consecutive titles for Andy Reid. That said, it could make things more interesting for these divisional contests if the teams show more promise than initially thought. And apparently it affects things like Super Bowl chances in September.