ESPN gives Chiefs the NFL's second-best chances to reach Super Bowl
By Matt Conner
The folks at ESPN have put out their 2024 Football Power Index (FPI) with a new year in the on-deck circle (wrong sport, we know), and the Kansas City Chiefs are coming up about where you'd expect given their status as the defending champs twice over.
In fact, there's only one team standing between the Chiefs and the top of the list.
The San Francisco 49ers are the No. 1 overall team coming into the 2024 season, per ESPN's FPI, with two things working in their favor: 1.) a very talented roster top to bottom and, 2.) their ability to compete in a weaker overall conference than the Chiefs.
Only one team stands between the Kansas City Chiefs and the top of the list.
The FPI calculates that the Niners have a 16 percent chance of reaching Super Bowl LIX for the NFC. The Chiefs are next at 12 percent, which means the favorites to make the championship would give the NFL a rematch of last season's Super Bowl that ultimately led to a repeat bid for K.C.
As it pertains to smaller potatoes, as they say, the AFC West is basically on lockdown from the outset of the season. The Chiefs are being given a 74 percent chance of taking the AFC West which shows that oddsmakers aren't nearly as fickle as the talking heads of the NFL offseason who are floating potential greatness for the L.A. Chargers so quickly after Jim Harbaugh's arrival.
As for the rest of the top five, the Baltimore Ravens, Detroit Lions, and Buffalo Bills round out the rest of ESPN''s rankings. And when it comes to the Chiefs' rivals, the Chargers are at No. 18, the Raiders are at No. 24, and the Broncos rest at No. 30 overall.