NFL parity remains a very real thing (outside of the Chiefs)

With all of the talk about a new dynasty emerging in Kansas City, the focus on parity throughout the National Football League has largely been lost, at least among Chiefs Kingdom. But the truth is that parity is still very much alive and well. It's just that it circumvents one of the 32 teams in the league.

Upon the conclusion of the 2022 regular season, the Chiefs flipped their total of consecutive seasons above .500 (a winning season) to 10. That's a full decade of above average football (and the majority of that also included playoff pushes, conference championships, and of course, two Super Bowl titles). When you look at Chiefs history, the present run of success is unparalleled, but it's not just miserable franchise memories that tell the story.

A recent tweet by Pro Football Focus put some things into view for us when they contrasted the general parity of the rest of the league and the success of the Chiefs together in the same poll.

Immediately the difference between the Chiefs and other teams is striking because of the difference in totals. The Chies have 10 consecutive winning seasons while the second team on the list, in this case the Buffalo Bills, is the best model of sustained winning outside of K.C. and they're striving to reach half of that span of time in 2023—with a fifth straight season above .500.

But what makes this stat even more telling is that PFF's tweet only represents the AFC—the American Football Conference. That's not to say that they didn't even look at the NFC but rather that the only teams that qualified for this top four that comprised the tweet were all from the AFC.

There's not a single team in the entire NFC that has more than two straight winning seasons.

To put it another way, the entire 16-team National Football Conference, which serves up a Super Bowl contender every year to face the best team in the AFC, doesn't have a single franchise that has won more games than they have lost for more than two seasons in a row.

Coming into this year, the Dallas Cowboys, San Francisco 49ers, and Philadelphia Eagles all have two winning seasons in a row. If the Niners can correct their quarterback troubles and stay healthy, they have a solid shot at a third. The Cowboys have the talent to stay afloat as well but their division looks tough and Mike McCarthy's team doesn't always play up to their opponents. The safest bet is the Eagles who not only gave the Chiefs a tremendous battle in Super Bowl LVII but should be favored to repeat as NFC Champs.

Back in the AFC, the Bills are going to find tougher sledding than ever to get to five games. The Patriots are always a tough out for any team, especially in the AFC East, and the Miami Dolphins have gotten very serious about competing in the last couple of years with a high-octane offense that can score with the best of them. Meanwhile the New York Jets imported Aaron Rodgers to solve their QB issues and you have a potentially stacked division that could provide enough hurdles to upset a team with great expectations.

Meanwhile, the Chiefs have won the AFC West in seven straight seasons and show no signs of slowing down even as rivals continue to make their adjustments. Even if a team happens to keep the Chiefs from summiting their own division, the presence of PatricK Mahomes and Andy Reid among others will keep them in the playoff chase in any given year, which means this total should only climb until someone significant retires or other unexpected changes take place.