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Chiefs won’t win the AFC
Why is this a bold prediction? Well, the Kansas City Chiefs are the first team in NFL history to reach five Super Bowls in a six-season span, and they’ve won three of them. Kansas City also typically plays home games in the postseason thanks to nine consecutive division titles, the second longest division title-winning streak in NFL history. Their current run
trails only the Tom Brady-Bill Belichick New England Patriots’ run of 11 in a row from 2009-2019.
That run is buoyed by almost always playing in the friendly confines of Arrowhead Stadium in January, with 12 of Patrick Mahomes’ 14 AFC postseason starts coming at home. Kansas City is 12-2 in its 14 playoff starts with Mahomes under center. This season, the Chiefs will once again win their division, but they won’t go 15-2 again to clinch homefield advantage. Eleven of Kansas City’s 15 regular-season wins from a year ago were by one possession, and they went a perfect 11-0 in one-score games last season, which tied an NFL single-season record with the 2022 Minnesota Vikings.
Fans greet Chiefs players at the airport after landing in Brazil | Chiefs Wire
The players were greeted immediately by crowds of fans at the airport, which already showed a festive atmosphere before Friday night. Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, Chris Jones, and others appeared on camera, waving to fans hoping to glimpse the stars as they made their way through the city.”Yeah, no, I’m super excited. It’ll be a great experience, a great chance to showcase who we are as the Kansas City Chiefs worldwide,” said Mahomes during his most recent press conference, “And I know the fan base in Brazil is extremely excited as well. So, it’ll be a cool experience, and being able to play our first game out there against a great opponent’ll be a lot of fun.”
25 Questions That Could Shape the 2025 NFL Season | The Ringer
15. Can Patrick Mahomes get his deep ball back? This is the second year in a row I’ve asked that question. It was a point of emphasis for Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid during the 2024 offseason, and then the Chiefs finished 32nd in explosive play rate, per TruMedia. So, obviously, Kansas City has made it a focus again. “Coach Reid has challenged me this offseason to push the ball down the field,” Mahomes said at the start of training camp. “Let guys have chances to make plays, and then once we get that back to where we want to be in our standard that we believe we should have, then we can come back to the underneath stuff.”
Mahomes averaged just 6.3 air yards per attempt last season, per TruMedia. Only two quarterbacks posted a lower average. And if you go back to 2022, Mahomes ranks 35th in the same stat. That’s a crime against football. We need the old Mahomes back, and it’s up to Reid to figure out how to make it happen.
Chargers-Chiefs Game Preview: How will Omarion Hampton look in debut? | Bolts From The Blue
2.) How will the passing game look with both Keenan Allen and Ladd McConkey on the field?
McConkey showed as a rookie that he can play everywhere along the offensive formation, but analysts still insist he’s best in the slot (and that very well could be the case). However, now that Allen is back in the fold (also a slot savant), how will the two be utilized together on the field? Will McConkey be defaulted to the outside when Allen is on the field? Will they actually mix and match them to maximize mismatches pre-snap?
I’m most excited to see what Greg Roman does with these two on crucial “got-to-have-it” downs as both have shown they can win one-on-one consistently. Defenses can’t double both without leaving someone else running free, right? Or at least that’s what we hope to be true.
I don’t know just yet if this is the best receiver room Herbert has ever had in his professional career, but I do believe that it could have one of, if not, the highest ceiling. It feels very “complete” with complementary skillsets throughout. Everyone has what they’re best at and it’ll be up to Roman to put those guys in the best position possible to maximize what they do best.
Kansas City Chiefs (-3.5) at Los Angeles Chargers (in Brazil)
The Chiefs appear to have solved their offensive-line issues while the Chargers suffered a big loss there losing Rashawn Slater for the season. That matters. Patrick Mahomes with time is a bad thing for a defense. and he will have that here as he gets off to a fast start in a season where he will rack up big numbers again. Chiefs take it.
Pick: Chiefs 30, Chargers 2
NFL Week 1 Power Rankings: Ravens and Eagles open the season on top | PFF
4. Kansas City Chiefs
Chance of winning Super Bowl: 9%
Biggest offseason addition: CB Kristian Fulton (68.9)
Biggest offseason loss: G Joe Thuney (80.0)Dealing with a Super Bowl loss will never be a fun task, but the Chiefs have proven in the past that they have the wherewithal to recover from a beatdown. The fact that they’re now fourth, and the third AFC team, in the power rankings means the tide could slowly be turning on their dominance, but as long as they have Patrick Mahomes on the field and Andy Reid calling plays, they’ll be there or thereabouts.
Around the NFL
What we learned from the Eagles’ 24-20 win over the Cowboys | NFL.com
2. Prescott stands tall in loss, but CeeDee’s drops haunt Cowboys
Dak Prescott appeared to revel in Jalen Carter’s disrespect, carving up the Eagles’ defense early on. Prescott and CeeDee Lamb caught fire early, and Dak’s pocket movement and ballhandling were strong — better than the last time we saw him in 2024, when Prescott suffered a season-ending hamstring injury. There was little sign of it Thursday, even with the challenging weather, as Prescott escaped pressure multiple times. His most miraculous play was taking down Quinyon Mitchell — the first tackle of Dak’s career — after Miles Sanders’ fumble, possibly saving a touchdown. But the Cowboys had every chance to win the game in Brian Schottenheimer’s debut, and three big fourth-quarter drops from Lamb were drive killers. The first drop on third-and-10 ended a drive; the second one prevented a 40-yard completion into the red zone with less than three minutes left. The final play was a tough one, but Lamb separated downfield and couldn’t haul in Prescott’s fourth-down heave, effectively ending the game. The team hung tougher than many expected but came up short on offense.
Pass rusher Nik Bonitto becomes top-paid non-QB in Broncos history | ESPN
Outside linebacker Nik Bonitto and the Denver Broncos reached agreement Thursday on a four-year, $106 million extension that includes $70 million guaranteed, Athletes First announced.
The deal can be worth up to $120 million if Bonitto reaches incentives in the contract negotiated by agent Tory Dandy, sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Five-time Pro Bowl WR Amari Cooper to retire from NFL one week after Raiders reunion | NFL.com
Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Amari Cooper has informed the team that he no longer has the desire to play football and intends to retire, NFL Network Insiders Ian Rapoport, Tom Pelissero and Mike Garafolo reported on Thursday.
Cooper was on the verge of completing his career circle in 2025 after signing with the Raiders — the team that made him the fourth overall pick of the 2015 draft — a little over a week ago in a move that represented both a happy homecoming of sorts and a welcome addition to Las Vegas’ receiving corps.
Pelissero reported, however, that Cooper had struggled to ramp up toward game readiness in the last week as the Raiders prepped for their regular-season opener against the Patriots on Sunday.
Thus, the 31-year-old Cooper decided it was best for him to walk away from the game after 10 seasons.
In case you missed it on Arrowhead Pride
Chiefs Roster: The 3 biggest questions against the Chargers in Week 1
1. Can the Chiefs’ pass rush overwhelm the Chargers’ offensive line?
Season-ending injuries are terrible — particularly when they happen before it gets underway. During the offseason, the Chargers’ Pro Bowl left tackle Rashawn Slater tore his patellar tendon. He will not play in 2025.
But even before the injury, there were some question marks about the Los Angeles offensive line. While Slater and Joe Alt looked elite at tackle, the interior of the offensive line wasn’t even close to that level. And despite being bad in 2024, the Chargers didn’t do much about it for 2025.
Los Angeles did sign Mehki Becton from the Philadelphia Eagles — but while he had a great 2024 season, he has health concerns. He missed three weeks of training camp with an undisclosed injury. But aside from him, the Chargers have the same interior players who struggled last year.
And with Slater out, they must now deal with a concern at right tackle, because Alt has moved to the left side. Going into the season, this might be a bottom-5 offensive line. This allows Kansas City to get its pass rush going early. If I’m to believe the defensive line can improve from a subpar 2024, I’ll need to see the Chiefs impact the pocket throughout the game.
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