The Kansas City Chiefs have enjoyed unrivaled success across the NFL in the last handful of years. Kansas City became the first team in roughly two decades to win back-to-back Super Bowls last season. And overall, the Chiefs have won the Super Bowl in three of the last five seasons. Regarding the AFC West division, they have won the division in eight consecutive seasons entering 2024.
Part of the reason the Chiefs have been routinely winning their division is that they keep it simple. That is the first goal of Andy Reid's teams throughout his head coaching career. As cliche as that may sound, taking care of the division first is going to help position you where you want to go, which is to win it all.
Chiefs' odds to win the AFC West in 2024
Unsurprisingly, the Chiefs are favored to win their ninth straight AFC West division crown this season. According to FanDuel, K.C. has the highest odds (-270) to win their division out of all eight divisions in the league. In fact, Kansas City is just one of four teams on FanDuel to have minus-odds as a division winner. The San Francisco 49ers (-190 odds), the Atlanta Falcons (-145 odds), and the Philadelphia Eagles (-140 odds) are the other three.
Last year's division win was somewhat special for the Chiefs. Compared to the other AFC West division rivals, Kansas City now has one more division win than each of the Broncos, Chargers and Raiders. 2023 was the sixteenth different time in which the Chiefs won the AFC West. Entering 2024, all of Denver, Las Vegas and Los Angeles sit with 15 division titles apiece.
Looking at AFC West rivals' odds
According to FanDuel, the Chargers are seen as the biggest threat to the Chiefs' division crown streak. L.A. sits at +390 odds to win the AFC West. I would not have guessed that the Chargers and Raiders would be as separated in those odds as they are. Both teams could easily finish with similar records this upcoming season, but on FanDuel, the Raiders have +1000 odds to win the AFC West.
The Denver Broncos have an even greater gap between them and the Raiders. FanDuel lists Denver at +2000 odds to win the AFC West. With rookie quarterback Bo Nix officially named as the starter, the Broncos are looking to turn things around via some youth. Sean Payton has never had a rookie quarterback win a game in his coaching career. But for the Broncos, they were the last team not named the Chiefs to win this AFC West division, back when they won the Super Bowl after the completion of the 2015 season.