A week one loss to the upstart Detroit Lions seemed to spell disaster for the Kansas City Chiefs. The team entered the 2023 season hoping to be the first team to repeat as Super Bowl champions in 20 years, but they found themselves as the first team in the loss column to start a new year.
Week 1 is a funny thing in the NFL. It brings hope, and it brings disappointment. But in the end, it doesn't ever really mean much. But it can seem like it does, especially when it started with the "Big 3" in the AFC all taking surprising losses: Chiefs to Lions, Buffalo Bills to New York Jets, and the Cincinnati Bengals to the Cleveland Browns.
One thing that hasn't changed this season is that the Kansas City Chiefs being on track to host another AFC Championship
Five weeks into the season, what have we learned about the Big 3? Well, the Cincinnati Bengals are only maybe starting to find something on offense, but for the vast majority of the previous five weeks, they haven't looked great. For the Buffalo Bills, they seemed to steamroll everyone in their path (including the high-octane Miami Dolphins), only to get defeated by the Jacksonville Jaguars in London.
The same Jaguars team that the Chiefs also struggled with in Week 2, but ultimately came out with the win over. That was one of four straight wins that now places Kansas City squarely at the top of the AFC and in pole position for the #1 seed in the AFC.
Chiefs 4-1 after five weeks without their offense in rhythm yet. Arrowhead Invitational still on track.
— Geoff Schwartz (@geoffschwartz) October 8, 2023
Maybe I'm being a little too optimistic about hosting a sixth straight AFC title game this early. Fine, but an eighth straight division title certainly seems like a lock at this point. After that 1-point loss to Detroit, you would have thought that the AFC West would have taken advantage.
But they didn't. Instead, everyone else lost, too. Despite giving everyone a one-week head start, Kansas City now has a two-game lead over every single opponent. To add on, they're gearing up for their first divisional game on Thursday night as they take on the Denver Broncos. That's the same Broncos team that hasn't beaten the Chiefs in over seven years.
So what can be said about all this?
The AFC West is still terrible and giving the AFC East of the past two decades a run for their money. The Bengals have a hobbled quarterback who may not be able to right his team. The Bills are hemorrhaging defensive stars weekly. And the Chiefs are still the team to beat (with the easiest schedule, too).
All of this is pointing towards another winter that runs through Arrowhead.