For the first time in nearly a decade, the Kansas City Chiefs are looking up at the rest of the AFC West. The back-to-back losses have exposed flaws that were previously masked by Patrick Mahomes’ brilliance, and the Denver Broncos have seized control of the division. The question is no longer whether the Chiefs are vulnerable. It is whether their reign of dominance is finally coming to an end.
The 28-24 loss to Denver in Week 8 was a microcosm of everything that has gone wrong for Kansas City over the past two weeks. The Chiefs controlled the game for most of the afternoon, building a 24-13 lead going into the fourth quarter. Then the collapse came: 15 unanswered points from the Broncos, a missed field goal from Harrison Butker, and a false start penalty on right tackle Jaylon Moore that nullified what would have been a game-winning touchdown pass to Rashee Rice as time expired. The Chiefs finished with 11 penalties for 105 yards—the most of any team in Week 8.
The result dropped Kansas City to 5-2 and handed Denver sole possession of first place in the AFC West at 6-2. It was the first time all season the Chiefs had trailed in the division standings. And it came just a week after a 31-9 loss to the Seattle Seahawks in which Mahomes was held to 165 passing yards and the Chiefs never reached the red zone.
The Flaws That Have Been Exposed
The Chiefs’ 5-0 start was built on Mahomes’ ability to elevate a flawed roster. When that elevation faltered, the flaws became impossible to ignore.
The receiving corps is not good enough. Travis Kelce, at 37, leads the team in receiving yards with 410 through seven games. That is not a sustainable model for a Super Bowl contender. Rashee Rice has not had a 100-yard game in almost a full calendar year, Xavier Worthy has been inconsistent as a downfield threat, and Tyquan Thornton is out with a long-term injury. Mahomes simply does not have enough reliable weapons.
Harrison Butker is in decline. The longtime kicker is converting just 66.7% of his field goals this season—a career worst—and is 2-for-7 from 50 yards or more. The Chiefs signed Justin Tucker to the practice squad as pressure, but Tucker’s presence brings its own complications. Whether Butker keeps his job is one of the most scrutinized decisions in the league.
The pass rush is nonexistent. Only the San Francisco 49ers have fewer sacks than Kansas City’s nine this season. George Karlaftis is the only Chiefs player with more than one sack. A defense that cannot pressure the quarterback cannot hold leads against good teams, as the fourth-quarter collapse against Denver demonstrated.
The penalties are a persistent problem. The 11 penalties against the Broncos were not an aberration. Andy Reid acknowledged after the game that “you’re playing a good football team, so when you do these things, you’re not going to normally come out on the right end of it”. Discipline has been a hallmark of Reid’s best teams. This year’s version has lost it.
The Rise of the Broncos—and the Rest of the AFC
The Chiefs’ struggles would matter less if they were not happening at a moment when the rest of the AFC has closed the gap.
Denver’s win was not a fluke. The Broncos rallied from an 11-point fourth-quarter deficit, converted a goal-line stand on the Chiefs’ final possession, and improved to 6-2 under Sean Payton. Their win probability was just 10.2% early in the fourth quarter and 11.9% with 2:44 remaining. They won anyway. The victory moved Denver to No. 1 in multiple power rankings, vaulting over Kansas City.
The Broncos are not alone. The Buffalo Bills sit at 6-1 and are widely considered the AFC’s most complete team. The Pittsburgh Steelers are 6-2. The Jacksonville Jaguars are 5-2 and coming off a 42-7 demolition of the Colts. The Los Angeles Chargers, who many expected to challenge for the division, remain in the mix. And the Baltimore Ravens, despite a slow start, have the talent to make a run.
The AFC is no longer a conference with one clear favorite and a handful of pretenders. It is a conference with six to ten teams that could genuinely reach the AFC Championship Game—and any of them could be bounced in the wild card round. The Chiefs are one of those teams now. They are no longer the team everyone else is chasing.
The Mahomes Factor
None of this means the Chiefs are done. As long as Patrick Mahomes is under center, Kansas City has a path to the Super Bowl that few other teams can match.
Mahomes showed signs of life against Denver, throwing for 285 yards and a touchdown while finally getting Rashee Rice more involved in the offense. He has spent his career turning flawed rosters into champions. The Chiefs won Super Bowls in 2022 and 2023 with rosters that had similar question marks at wide receiver. The difference now is that the margin for error has shrunk. The defense is not as dominant. The kicking game is unreliable. The penalties are costly. And the rest of the AFC has gotten better.
Andy Reid is not panicking. “Listen, things happen,” he said after the loss. “There are a few more games left. We’ve got to make sure we rally from this, learn from it and then move on”. Reid has navigated midseason adversity before. The Chiefs went through a similar stretch in 2021, losing three of four games in October before rallying to reach the AFC Championship Game. They have earned the benefit of the doubt.
But the benefit of the doubt is not the same as dominance. The Chiefs are 5-2 and second in the AFC West. They have lost two straight games. Their flaws are real and measurable. And for the first time in years, the question is not whether they will win the Super Bowl. It is whether they can win their own division.
Is Kansas City’s dominance
finally under threat? The honest answer is yes—but with a caveat that keeps the Chiefs dangerous. The 2026 Chiefs are not the juggernaut that won three Super Bowls in five years. They are a flawed contender in a conference that has never been deeper. The Broncos have seized the division lead, the Bills have emerged as the AFC’s best team, and the rest of the conference has closed the gap.
But the Chiefs still have Mahomes. They still have Reid. They still have a championship pedigree that no other team in the AFC can match. The dynasty is not dead. It is wounded, vulnerable, and facing its toughest test in years. The next few weeks will determine whether this is a temporary stumble or the beginning of the end.
The NFL’s power balance is shifting. The Chiefs are no longer the team everyone is chasing. They are the team everyone believes they can catch. And in a league defined by parity, that is a dangerous place to be.
