Why the Kansas City Chiefs Will Win the AFC West

Mahomes more than impressed in his first full season as an NFL starting quarterback. He led the Chiefs to the most prolific offense in the league, topping the NFL in total yards. Unfortunately, the high octane offense was met with lackluster defensive play. The Chiefs allowed the second most yards to opponents last year, behind the lowly Cincinnati Bengals. This season will require improvements on that side of the ball, especially with star running back Kareem Hunt out of the equation. That being said, Kansas City is still in a prime position to win the AFC West. 

Offense

As mentioned, last year’s Kansas City offense was beyond impressive. However, the running game may suffer this year with Kareem Hunt in a Cleveland Browns uniform. Running back Damien Williams will now presumably see the majority of the carries this season. He appeared in all 16 games last year but totaled just 50 rushing attempts for 256 yards. The recent signing of LeSean McCoy could change things, however. The aerial raid will remain similar, featuring Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce as Mahomes’ main targets. Extending the contract of right guard Mitchell Schwartz back in June will also help bolster a solid offensive line that was plagued with injuries last season. 

Defense

The defensive side of the ball will once again have questions around it. Defensive tackle Chris Jones was arguably robbed of a Pro-Bowl selection last year, finishing third in the league in sacks and fifth in tackles for loss. The Chiefs did lose a couple big names in Eric Murray, Justin Houston, and Dee Ford. However, acquiring safety Tyrann Mathieu and defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah will help bolster the defense. The departure of Eric Berry also presents an amazing opportunity for rookie safety Juan Thornhill, the Virginia product, to display why he was worthy of a second round selection. The Chiefs may not finish with a top 5 defense this season, but it will certainly see improvements from last year. 

Conclusion

Oddshark.com has the Chiefs at +750 odds to win the upcoming Super Bowl, the best of any AFC West team (the Chargers are second in the division at +1200). Kansas City will enter the 2019-2020 campaign as favorites to repeat as divisional winners. However, the absence of Kareem Hunt should not be understated, and the defense will have to prove itself. With a year of postseason experience under his belt, Mahomes will look to take his Chiefs even farther. 

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