With the Kansas City Chiefs’ season opener against the Los Angeles Chargers right around the corner, let’s take a look at the AFC landscape for a way-too-early stab at predicting which teams Kansas City might face in the playoffs in their march toward Super Bowl LX.
First seed: Kansas City Chiefs
FanDuel odds to make the playoffs -370
The Chiefs currently have the fourth-best odds to make the NFL playoffs. For a team that has not missed the postseason in a decade — and has won the AFC three consecutive times — this number seems
a little disrespectful. I assume the logic is that the Chiefs play in a tougher division, so their road to a tenth consecutive AFC West title is more difficult than others.
At -370, the payout isn’t great — but picking Kansas City to make the playoffs is easy money.
Second seed: Buffalo Bills
FanDuel odds to make the playoffs -800
The Bills have the best odds to make the postseason.
Much like the Chiefs, you can tattoo the Bills’ name in this spot for the foreseeable future. As long as Josh Allen is their quarterback, they will be Kansas City’s toughest AFC competition.
Third seed: Baltimore Ravens
FanDuel odds to make the playoffs -590
The Ravens have the second-best odds to make the dance. Lamar Jackson is the best running quarterback in the NFL’s history, while head coach John Harbaugh already has a Super Bowl ring in his jewelry collection. As long as they are together, Baltimore will be in the mix.
Fourth seed: Jacksonville Jaguars
FanDuel odds to make the playoffs +172
This is where we deviate a bit from the pack. While the Houston Texans are loaded on offense, I’m not ready to give up on Trevor Lawrence just yet — especially now that he is paired with the bright offensive mind of head coach Liam Coen and has two of the league’s most electric receiving threats: Travis Hunter and Brian Thomas Jr. There may be some bumps along the way, but I think they find a way to edge out the Texans.
Fifth seed: Los Angeles Chargers
FanDuel odds to make the playoffs -108
In his second year as head coach of the Chargers, I think Jim Harbaugh will have the Chargers firing on all cylinders. They might even give the Chiefs a run for their money for the division title. But I predict that Kansas City’s Week 15 victory will give the Chiefs breathing room to pull away down the stretch.
Sixth seed: Houston Texans
FanDuel odds to make the playoffs -150
The Texans’ approach seems to be giving C.J. Stroud every wide receiver they can get, while pairing them with a handful of young defensive superstars. It’s hard to argue with the results. They have made the playoffs (and won a postseason matchup) in each of the last two seasons, stomping the Chargers 32-12 in 2024’s Wild Card round before falling to the Chiefs in the Divisional round.
Seventh seed: Pittsburgh Steelers
FanDuel odds to make the playoffs +126
This is my riskiest pick of the bunch, but I’m convinced head coach Mike Tomlin could have squeezed nine wins out of the 2008 Chiefs. With DK Metcalf now on board — and with the arrival of rookie running back Kaleb Johnson, whom I often thought looked better Ashton Jeanty — we can see a path forward. It all hinges on whether mercenary quarterback Aaron Rodgers has anything left in the tank.
AFC Wild Card matchups
PIT @ BUF
HOU @ BAL
LAC @ JAX
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