Why the KC Chiefs are not the favorites in the AFC

After another win that was closer than it should have been, there are reasons to be concerned that the KC Chiefs aren’t the favorites to win the AFC.

For the second consecutive week, the Kansas City Chiefs won a way-too-close game against a terrible team. They turned the ball over two times and missed a couple of kicks as well in a matchup that had no business even sniffing overtime.

According to Draft Kings, the Chiefs currently have the second-best chance to win the AFC and advance to Super Bowl LVII, only trailing the Buffalo Bills. Despite the strong odds, there is a lot to be concerned about when it comes to Kansas City and their ability to win multiple playoff games, even ones at home. They may not be the true favorites in the AFC, but a serious argument can be made that they aren’t even one of the two biggest favorites in the conference.

Here are six reasons why the Chiefs are not the favorites in the AFC.

Special Teams are now an issue

For the first nine seasons of the Andy Reid era, special teams have arguably been the most consistent part of the team. The unit rarely allowed big returns, seldom turned the ball over, and never had an issue missing kicks regularly. This season is a different story.

Skyy Moore has muffed several punts. Jody Fortson lost a fumble on a kick return. Harrison Butker has been inconsistent on both field goals and extra points. The team has also been burned by fake punts and surprise onside kicks. In addition, the team is 29th in kick return average and 26th in punt return average. Also, on countless occasions, returners have either attempted to field punts or returned kickoffs they had no business doing so. The only true positive is that Tommy Towsend has been playing at a pro-bowl-Esque level as a punter.

Dave Toub has to take responsibility since it’s his unit and they have just seemed unprepared at times. At the same time, it wouldn’t be a good idea to fire Toub after one bad season. His group has been excellent for nine seasons and one underwhelming season shouldn’t cancel all of that out, but things have to start changing soon.