The Kansas City Chiefs are on a mission to get back to the Super Bowl after an embarrassing loss to the Philadelphia Eagles last February.
Kansas City will need to do it in an AFC West division that is only getting stronger, amid improvements to the Denver Broncos, Los Angeles Chargers, and Las Vegas Raiders. While ESPN’s Bill Barnwell made a postseason prediction for Kansas City that Chiefs fans will love, he didn’t express the same confidence for the regular season dominance.
“They won’t go 15-2 again, but anything short of 11 wins would be a major surprise,” Barnwell wrote in his playoff prediction article for ESPN.
In the quest to three-peat last season, the Chiefs bolted out the gate at 9-0, but seven of those games were decided by a score. The Chiefs’ only losses came against the Buffalo Bills on the road in November 2024 and a Week 18 game against the Broncos with the AFC playoff seeding set in stone.
“While I understand concerns that the Chiefs are vulnerable to a push by the Broncos or the Chargers —and I have Mahomes & Co. as the most likely team to decline — I’m not about to pick any other team to win the AFC West,” Barnwell wrote.
“Even if Kansas City isn’t quite as dominant in one-score games, the arrival of two real-life left tackles in Josh Simmons and Jaylon Moore means major upgrades on what was a turnstile situation on Mahomes’ blind side last season,” Barnwell added.” I’m a little concerned about the secondary with the departure of Justin Reid, but the Chiefs will be just fine.”
Chiefs Receive Favorable Super Bowl Pick From Bill Barnwell
GettyLAS VEGAS, NEVADA – FEBRUARY 11: Patrick Mahomes #15 of the Kansas City Chiefs celebrates after defeating the San Francisco 49ers 25-22 during Super Bowl LVIII at Allegiant Stadium on February 11, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Chiefs defeated the 49ers 25- (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
Despite the predicted decline, challenging AFC West, and recent Super Bowl flop, Barnwell predicts that the Chiefs will lift the Lombardi Trophy after all is said and done with a 27-24 win over the Green Bay Packers.
“I’ve picked the Chiefs to win the Super Bowl each of the past five seasons, both before the regular season begins and before the playoffs begin as well as in my Super Bowl previews after they’ve actually advanced to the title game,” Barnwell wrote. “They haven’t won every year, of course, but I don’t regret picking the team that has won two titles and advanced to two more Super Bowls over that span.”
“I’m going back to that well again in 2025, even after suggesting Kansas City will decline during the regular season,” Barnwell added. “I wouldn’t be surprised if the Chiefs actually improve their underlying level of play, especially on the offensive side of the ball, only for that to be (more than) offset by worse luck in one-score matchups. I’m projecting a world where the Chiefs win 12 or 13 games, compete for the top seed in the AFC, then run through the postseason to their fifth title.”
Why The Packers?
Enter star linebacker Micah Parsons via a trade with the Dallas Cowboys, and the Packers are now Barnwell’s pick to face the Chiefs in what would be an old-school Super Bowl matchup.
Kansas City and Green Bay met in the very first Super Bowl in 1967, and the Packers won it 35-10 in Los Angeles. This year’s Packers team has a rising quarterback in Jordan Love, a big draft find in wide receiver Matthew Golden, and now a defensive star in Parsons.
“I projected a Chiefs-Packers Super Bowl last season, only for injuries (and the Eagles) to waylay the Packers in the wild-card round,” Barnwell wrote. “This version of the Packers should be better. Just not good enough to beat the Chiefs, whose offensive line additions will pay off on the biggest stage.”
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