While it probably makes more sense to choose the field over Kansas City in the Chiefs’ quest for an unprecedented third straight victory, it was hard not to be impressed on opening night. Patrick Mahomes showed last season that he can win with less, when he overcame a number of obstacles in his own receiver corps and still captured his third Super Bowl title.
Based on one night, the Chiefs are better. Rookie Xavier Worthy brought some explosiveness to the offense, scoring two touchdowns on three touches in his debut. Second-year receiver Rashee Rice looks poised for a monster season after slowly emerging as a key contributor as a rookie. Even as Travis Kelce approaches the final nine holes of his stellar career, Mahomes appears to have more options at his disposal than in recent memory.
The Chiefs traded away key cornerback L’Jarius Sneed in the offseason, but they didn’t seem to slow down on that side of the ball either. Given the obvious improvements Kansas City has made on offense, the Chiefs will be very difficult to beat again come January.
Every year when the season starts, many NFL prognosticators like to rate the strength of each division. This year, almost everyone agrees that the AFC South is among the worst of the eight groups. Again, it’s only been a week, but even before the games kicked off, I had a feeling that the division was better than people give it credit for.
The Texans won one playoff game in 2023 before losing their divisional round game in Baltimore and then improving. Houston signed Stefon Diggs, Joe Mixon and Danielle Hunter, among others, in the offseason and was a touted Super Bowl pick with young CJ Stroud at the helm.
Meanwhile, the Colts have brought their young quarterback Anthony Richardson back into the lineup and faced the Texans in the opening game. Indy, with backup Gardner Minshew, suffered a 9-8 loss, and yet many have dismissed the Colts’ chances for 2024. Despite the 29-27 loss, Indy looks more than competitive.
Then come the Jaguars, who, as most forget, were 8-3 last season, leading the AFC before Trevor Lawrence injured his ankle and ruined Jacksonville’s chances. The collapse aside, Jacksonville is still a talented team and probably should have left Miami with a win if not for a Travis Etienne fumble near the goal line that changed the course of the game. You’ll be hearing from the Jags.
All three have legitimate claims to the division crown – with the Texans probably the favorite. Only Tennessee, which blew a 17-point lead in Chicago, is likely to be eliminated from the playoffs.
1. Kansas City (1-0) – The Chiefs look stronger than they did a year ago, which is bad news for everyone.
2. Baltimore (0-1) – The Ravens just missed the chance to extend the game on night one. Baltimore has some issues up front but will get by.
3. San Francisco (1-0) – The Niners look as dangerous as ever.
4. Detroit (1-0) – The Lions showed a lot of toughness and fought their way to a victory over the Rams in overtime.
5. Buffalo (1-0) – After a slow start, the Bills controlled the final three quarters as Josh Allen once again dominated.
