The Kansas City Chiefs have won the AFC West championship for an incredible seventh time in a row thanks to their overtime victory over the Houston Texans, which was decided by a score of 30-24.
"It's a major deal. Naturally, you want to win the Super Bowl every year, but "winning the AFC West" is our first objective, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes stated.
The Chiefs' seventh consecutive division title ties the Los Angeles Rams' streak from 1973 to 1979 for the second-longest in NFL history.
However, the dynasty of the New England Patriots is a more modern and appropriate comparison. From 2003 to 2019, New England won 16 of 17 AFC East titles, including 11 straight from 2009 to 2019.
The Chiefs and Patriots share the characteristics of having a transcendent quarterback (Mahomes and Tom Brady) and a future Hall of Fame coach (Andy Reid and Bill Belichick) as part of their divisional dominance.
However, despite their overall superiority, those teams also benefited from playing in weak divisions.
Only six times did the division feature another playoff-bound team with 10 or more wins during the Patriots' reign from 2003 to 2019. Also, no other AFC East team made the playoffs or won by double digits from 2011 to 2014.
While Belichick and Brady led the Patriots, the other teams in the division rotated through a variety of starting quarterbacks and head coaches. The AFC West is currently experiencing the same thing.
The Denver Broncos have gone through numerous quarterbacks, head coaches, and even new owners since Peyton Manning left the team following the 2015 season. Los Angeles and the Las Vegas Raiders have both recently relocated to new cities after enduring dysfunction from the top down.
Including during the Chiefs' back-to-back Super Bowl seasons in 2019 and 2020, the division featured neither a 10-win team nor a playoff team (other than the Chiefs) during Kansas City's six previous AFC West titles.
The Chargers are the only other team in the AFC West that has a chance of reaching 10 wins or making the playoffs this year.
Censuring the AFC West all in all isn't intended to take away from the Bosses' general brightness.
Even in a year when the rest of the division acquired big-name players like Russell Wilson, whose average annual value (AAV) ranks second in the NFL, and Randy Gregory, who was signed to a five-year, $70 million contract with the Broncos; the Chiefs continue to dominate. On the Raiders, Davante Adams has the second-highest AAV among NFL receivers. On the Chargers, Khalil Mack and J.C. Jackson have signed five-year, $82.5 million contracts.
Even though Alex Smith led the Chiefs to AFC West titles in 2016 and 2017, the Chiefs' current streak has been led by Patrick Mahomes running Reid's offense.
Since being drafted in 2017, Mahomes is an astounding 15-0 in street games in the AFC West and he's 10-0 against the Mustangs, who he crushed the week before.
He extended his NFL lead in passing touchdowns and passing yards with a 36-of-41, 336-yard performance against the Texans, making him a leading MVP contender.
He is at the forefront of the winning culture that Reid has established and is the NFL's face. Additionally, the Chiefs' streak of seven divisional crowns in a row is evidence of their skill and perseverance.
Mahomes stated, "We just really emphasize playing our division opponents." We work on that throughout the offseason."
However, the precarious state of the AFC West can also be seen in the Chiefs' dominance of the division.
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