Patrick Mahomes has had an unprecedented run to start his career. We all know that. But for the unversed, the Kansas City Chiefs QB has reached the AFC Championship Game in each of his first seven seasons in the league. Another thing he’s done in every year of his NFL career is win the AFC West.
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However, the Chiefs’ recent divisional dominance did not start with Mahomes but rather with head coach Andy Reid. The Walrus came on in 2013 and won his first AFC West title in 2016. No other team has won it since. That’s nine straight years in the doldrums for the Las Vegas Raiders, Denver Broncos, and Los Angeles Chargers. Is there any end in sight for them?
Well, for the first time in the Mahomian era, the answer is actually yes. All three teams have had major overhauls at the top and have brought in proven, experienced coaches to push their franchises in the right direction. ESPN analyst and 10-year NFL veteran Harry Douglas believes the challengers have done enough to topple the champion Chiefs, and he’s putting his chips behind Sean Payton and the Broncos.
“This is the year that the Chiefs will not win the AFC West. I have the Denver Broncos winning it. And it’s because of the upgrades that they made on the defensive side of the football. They went and got two guys from the San Francisco 49ers who can play at a high level in [safety Talanoa] Hufanga and also Dre Greenlaw at the linebacker position,” he stated.
"Do you trust Bo Nix vs. Patrick Mahomes?"@ByKimberleyA disagrees with @HDouglas3 picking the Broncos to win the AFC West 🍿 pic.twitter.com/UzgNycLV1e
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) July 3, 2025
It is worth noting that both Hufanga and Greenlaw are coming off major ACL and Achilles injuries in 2023, respectively, but they are both All-Pro talents still in their physical primes. Not to mention they also had the most under-the-radar pair of double-digit sackers last year in Nik Bonitto and Jonathon Cooper, as well as the reigning DPOY in cornerback Pat Surtain II.
On the other side of the ball, the Broncos had arguably more work to do. From Douglas’ perspective, they filled their two biggest holes. And they filled them in well, using a second-round pick to plug one and employing a two-time Pro Bowler to take care of the other.
“Two glaring needs that I thought they needed coming into the 2025 season offensively was the running back position and the tight end position. They went out and got Evan Engram, and they drafted RJ Harvey from Central Florida, who only rushed for over 1,500 yards and 22 touchdowns in college,” he added.
Perhaps the most important part of any pro-Broncos prediction, however, is quarterback Bo Nix’s continued development. He was impressive as a rookie, and he showed the ability to handle Payton’s complex schemes. They will need him to take another step forward in 2025 for this prediction to come to fruition, though.
“I like the upgrades. Bo Nix did a great job orchestrating a very difficult Sean Payton offense last season, and I expect him to improve and actually win the AFC West in 2025.”
Fellow analyst Kimberley Martin agreed that the Broncos would improve over 2024, but not that they would take down the mighty Chiefs. She downplayed Douglas’ bold take as nothing but summertime fancy.
And we would have to agree with Martin. The Broncos will certainly be improved, but we think the Chiefs will be playing with a renewed sense of vigor after their embarrassing showing at Super Bowl 59. They’ve been treating the regular season like a procession over the last few years while still somehow winning the division.
We think they’ll take it seriously this year and start winning big again. Even so, we can see three—and maybe even four—playoff teams coming from the AFC West this year, so the division crown isn’t the end-all, be-all anyway.
