(Photo: DeViantArt)
1. Kansas City Chiefs: For the first time in 20 years, we had a repeat Super Bowl champion and it hadn’t been done since Tom Brady’s Patriots did it in 2003-04 and 2004-05. Since Patrick Mahomes became the starting Quarterback, the Chiefs have breezed through the AFC West and have clinched one of the top two seeds in the AFC playoff picture. That wasn’t the case last season as Kansas City lost six games which is the most in the Mahomes era and they were the third seed in the AFC playoff picture meaning they would have to travel on the road for a playoff game for the first time with Patrick. It was no problem at all. They got by the Buffalo Bills in Orchard Park and the Baltimore Ravens the following week in the AFC title game. This is the best team in football and to get anywhere, this is who you must take down. Patrick is now in his prime and won’t slow down anytime soon. The difference for this Chiefs team a year ago was their defense and they were able to extend Chris Jones in March. They aren’t going away anytime soon with number 15 under center.
2. Las Vegas Raiders: Let’s rewind to Christmas Day in 2023. The Raiders are in Kansas City playing the Chiefs andthey upset them at Arrowhead which is a tough place to play. After that game, I said to myself they needed to hire Antonio Pierce right on the spot. You saw an immense difference in how the Raiders played for Antonio compared to how they did for Josh McDaniels who was fired in-season. When a team wants to play for a coach, they go all out. Las Vegas did indeed hire Antonio to be their permanent Head Coach. However, they did lose Josh Jacobs to the Packers in the off-season and I liked them drafting Brock Bowers and I can’t wait to see how he’s used. Gardner Minshew will be their starting Quarterback this year and remember, they still have Davante Adams who has proven he is still one of the best Wide Receivers in the game today.
3. Denver Broncos: They are a mess. Everyone thought Russell Wilson would’ve fixed things, but it didn’t. His first year, the coach was terrible and you’d think bringing in Sean Payton would fix things, but not at all. The issue I had with Sean was he was trying to coach Russ as he did Drew Brees and there’s no coaching one Quarterback the same way you did a future Hall of Fame. I’ll give the Broncos some credit because they did show some fight at the end, but missed the playoffs yet again and haven’t made it back to the postseason since 2015. Now, Russ is gone and they drafted Bo Nix, a Quarterback out of Oregon in the draft in April. Also, the Broncos traded Jerry Jeudy to the Cleveland Browns and he was Denver’s best offensive weapon. Has Sean found his Quarterback? Or will it be another long year in the Mile High City?
4. Los Angeles Chargers: It wasn’t a matter of if Brandon Staley would be let go, it was when at this point and after the Chargers gave up 63 points to the Las Vegas Raiders last year, Brandon was fired. I’m shocked he made it this long because I thought he would be fired after blowing such a big lead in the Wild Card round of the playoffs a few years back. The Chargers upgraded at coach and hired Jim Harbaugh who’s won everywhere he’s been and he’s fresh off a National Title game victory in January. Justin Herbert is back after missing the rest of the year with a finger injury. The Chargers however lost both Keenan Allen and Mike Williams this off-season. In the draft, they selected Joe Alt from Notre Dame to bolster up that Offensive Line which is a Harbaugh staple. Having Jim as a Head Coach will help Justin greatly. Jim is a former Quarterback who can help Justin take that next step.
2024 Predictions
1. Chiefs (13-4)
2. Chargers (10-7)
3. Raiders (6-11)
4. Broncos (5-12)
The Chiefs have owned this division and will continue to do so. They will win their ninth consecutive division title under Andy Reid. The Chiefs upgraded their receiver room with the signing of Hollywood Brown and drafted Xavier Worthy out of Texas. Those two receivers give the Chiefs two guys who want to create down the field. Something they haven’t had since the days of Tyreek Hill. Can this defense keep up the productive play they did last year? That’s what I’ll be paying attention to. At this point, you can pencil them in to win their division and be one of the final four teams playing to get to the Super Bowl. That’s just how good they’ve been and, last year showed they can get the job done on the road when it matters most come playoff time.
