Coming into 2020, the Kansas City Chiefs find themselves in an unusual situation: sitting atop the National Football League. Before winning Super Bowl LIV, it had been fifty years since the Chiefs had won the title — as part of the American Football League, and with Len Dawson at quarterback. Since capturing that championship, they gave Patrick Mahomes II an extension for half a billion dollars that still is fairly club-friendly. They also gave their starting tight end an extension and inked their top pass rusher to a long-term contract. They also used the draft to add some quality players. In other words, the roster shredding that often happens after winning a title did not happen to the Chiefs. Can they repeat?
We have the NFL betting odds for them to win the AFC West, the AFC Championship and Super Bowl LV — and a discussion of the season that awaits them.
NFL Betting News:
Kansas City Chiefs Betting Analysis
Odds to Win Super Bowl LV: +600 | Check the Odds
Odds to Win the AFC Championship: +300 | Check the Odds
Odds to Win the AFC West: -455 | Check the Odds
It’s been sixteen years since a team repeated as Super Bowl champions. Who was that team? The New England Patriots, who won Super Bowls XXXVIII and XXXIX, over Carolina and Philadelphia by a combined six points. So the razor’s edge that they had to walk was severe. The last team other than New England to repeat as Super Bowl champions was the Dallas Cowboys (Super Bowls XXVII and XXVIII), so it’s definitely a rare occurrence.
The last team to return to a Super Bowl after winning the previous one was also the New England Patriots, who appeared in Super Bowl LII (losing to Philadelphia) after beating Atlanta in Super Bowl LI the year before. Of course, those Patriots also returned to Super Bowl LIII to beat the Rams.
So what makes Kansas City likely to overcome these odds and pay off on the scant value that they offer? Well, let’s look at the rest of the AFC West. The Las Vegas Raiders seem to be stuck in the middle of an ongoing rebuild. The Los Angeles Chargers no longer have Philip Rivers at quarterback, as they look to have installed Tyrod Taylor as a game manager until rookie Justin Herbert is ready to take over the offense. The Denver Broncos have a second-year quarterback in Drew Lock — but are still developing. So the Chiefs don’t really have top-tier competition in their division yet.
There were also some problems that the Chiefs had to deal with all season long in 2019 that some may have forgotten in the afterglow of the title. Wide receiver Tyreek Hill missed most of the season opener and was not healthy until Week 6. Sammy Watkins was out for two games. Left tackle Eric Fisher, responsible for protecting Patrick Mahomes’ blind side, was injured in Week 2 and missed all the way to Week 11. Mahomes himself had an ankle sprain bothering him from Week 1 until Week 5, when he aggravated the injury. In Week 7, he dislocated his right kneecap but was able to come back for Week 10, a game the Chiefs would lose, but after that, the Chiefs won out.
All of this is to say that the Chiefs’ offense was not really firing on all cylinders until the last third of the season. Since that season-ending run, the Chiefs replaced tailback Damien Williams with Clyde Edwards-Helaire, a rookie out of LSU, in addition to their other moves.
What about the defense? They performed at an average level for the first half of 2019, which was an improvement over their 2018 level. Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo brought in a new culture in his first season, and the team had added defensive end Frank clark and safety Tyrann Mathieu, both of whom made major contributions. Down the stretch, including the postseason, the Chiefs permitted 16 points per game. This year, the questions at cornerback, where Bashaud Breeland faces a four-game suspension, are legitimate. But that is a fairly minor issue given the strengths.
So can the Chiefs repeat? The AFC West seems like a given. However, Baltimore is waiting for them — and they have to be ravenous (no pun intended) for another shot at the postseason. I’m not sure that the Chiefs will return that hungry, and that they can stop the Ravens. We’ll see in Week 3, when the Chiefs head to Baltimore.
