The Kansas City Chiefs were impressive on their way to a 9-0 record to start this season, but they’ve never appeared invincible.

Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills exposed the cracks in the armor of the two-time defending Super Bowl champions, bullying their way to a win over the Chiefs last weekend by refusing to settle for a field goal when the ensuing touchdown robbed Patrick Mahomes of the ability to do what he does best (and has done too often against Buffalo for the franchise’s taste) — lead a late-game drive and steal victory from the clutches of defeat.

Kansas City made a couple of meaningful upgrades ahead of the trade deadline earlier this month, adding pass rusher Josh Uche of the New England Patriots and wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins of the Tennessee Titans.

Beyond that, the Chiefs have one of the best defensive units in the NFL and the best quarterback the league has seen since Tom Brady in Mahomes. Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.

Mark Konezny-Imagn Images Mark Konezny-Imagn Images That said, the disbelievers in the franchise’s chances to become the first three-peat champion in league history got what they were looking for in a two-score win by the Bills in Buffalo in Week 11.

That has opened doors for predictions that Kansas City is about to regress to the mean after winning seven one-score games over its undefeated streak in 2024, which could mean the Chiefs falling multiple rungs out of the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoff picture. ”

Told you the path would eventually get rocky,” Brad Gagnon of Bleacher Report wrote on Friday, Nov. 22. “I do believe [the Chiefs] have more losses in them, especially during a season-closing stretch against [the] Houston [Texans], Pittsburgh [Steelers] and Denver [Broncos]. They won’t win the AFC.”

Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid. © Denny Medley-Imagn Images © Denny Medley-Imagn Images Kansas City also has another contest against the Los Angeles Chargers to navigate, though the team’s next two games (at the Carolina Panthers and home against the Las Vegas Raiders) will see the Chiefs enter as significant favorites.

As far as the race for top seed in the conference is concerned, Kansas City is a half-game up on Buffalo, which is now in the midst of its bye week, but doesn’t hold that tiebreaker.

The Steelers are 1.5 games behind the Chiefs, while the Chargers trail by two games and the Texans are 2.5 games back of Kansas City.

The Chiefs can’t finish worse than the No. 4 overall seed, which would guarantee them a first-round home game over Super Wildcard Weekend, as long as they finish ahead of the Chargers and Broncos and win the AFC West Division.