The Kansas City Chiefs flat-out dominated the AFC over the past six seasons. The Chiefs made five of the six Super Bowls and still pushed the AFC Championship Game to overtime in the remaining season. They also won nine straight AFC West division titles. Both of those streaks came to a crashing end this season as the Chiefs fell off in a major way, finishing just 6–11 with a top-10 draft pick. Kansas City’s downfall left a void in the AFC West that the Denver Broncos stepped up to fill.
The Broncos not only dethroned the Chiefs as AFC West champs, but they also earned the top seed in the AFC, which comes with a first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. It all looked good on paper, but underneath the sterling record (and endless chirping by Broncos fans), there was still a lot of league-wide doubt about just how good the Broncos really were. Yes, they had an amazing defense, but could Bo Nix and Denver’s offense really do enough in the playoffs to make them a serious contender?
To show that this doubt wasn’t just the imagination of a writer on a Kansas City Chiefs blog, the Super Bowl betting odds before the Divisional Round games kicked off had the Broncos with the fifth-best odds of the remaining eight teams to win the Super Bowl. The AFC’s top seed—and a team tied for the best record in the NFL—wasn’t even in the top half of the remaining favorites. In other words, a lot of people still believed the 2025 Broncos were a fluke.
By advancing to the AFC title game,the Denver Broncos proved they are for real and the new class of the AFC West.
That is what made Saturday’s game between the Broncos and the Buffalo Bills so interesting. On one side was the new kid on the block, Bo Nix and his 14–3 Broncos, going against Josh Allen and the Bills—a team that seemingly just needed the Chiefs to get out of their way so they could finally get their elusive Super Bowl win. While the Broncos had the better record and Nix had been clutch in the regular season, most expected Allen and the Bills to use their playoff experience to advance, but it didn’t turn out that way.
Nix was the one who got the job done, and Josh Allen was the one in tears at his postgame press conference, talking about how he let his team down with four turnovers. Unfortunately for Broncos fans, the win that gave them the most credibility they’d had all season also cost them dearly. In a shocking announcement after the game, Sean Payton revealed that Bo Nix had fractured his ankle and was out for the rest of the playoffs. Maybe Denver’s vaunted defense and Jarrett Stidham can find a way to get them into the Super Bowl, but realistically, their Super Bowl hopes are all but gone.
However, the Kansas City Chiefs organization better have taken note of the Broncos’ performance on Saturday. Yes, the Buffalo Bills losing in the playoffs has become an annual tradition, but it would be close-minded for the Chiefs and their fans to pat themselves on the back when they send the Bills packing, yet deny the Broncos the same credit for doing the same. While there are certainly no guarantees that Denver would have made or won the Super Bowl with a healthy Nix, they absolutely proved they deserved to be in the AFC Championship Game.
That means as the Chiefs attempt to rebuild their roster and regain their success, they have to plan for the fact that their path back to the top of the AFC West is currently blocked by a team that proved it is one of the best teams in the conference. Period. They have a fantastic defense, an experienced Super Bowl–winning head coach, and a young quarterback who just outdueled Josh Allen in the playoffs. Assuming Nix doesn’t have any complications from his injury, the Broncos absolutely deserve to be the favorite in the AFC West next season.
Had the Broncos flopped against the Bills and been one-and-done in the playoffs after their great regular season, it would have been much easier to write off 2025 as a fluke. Even if you don’t believe the Broncos will win 14 games again next season, they have to be given credit as a true contender. For years, the Chiefs were the clear toast of the AFC West and used it as a stepping stone to make and win Super Bowls. If the Chiefs want to get back to winning championships, it is going to have to start by reclaiming the AFC West—and on Saturday, the Broncos proved that likely won’t be an easy task.