It effectively was a two-horse race for AFC supremacy last season, and the New England Patriots once again came out on top.
The Kansas City Chiefs earned the top seed in the AFC, but it was the Patriots who ultimately represented the conference in the Super Bowl. The Chiefs came just about as close as you can come to reaching Super Sunday, as they narrowly fell to New England in overtime in the AFC Championship Game at Arrowhead Stadium.
It’s poised to be a dogfight between the sides once again in 2019, but ESPN’s Marcus Spears expects the outcome to be flipped. During Wednesday’s edition of “First Take,” the former Dallas Cowboys and Baltimore Ravens defensive end explained why he believes the Chiefs will halt the Patriots’ AFC title streak at three.
“The fact that he (Patrick Mahomes) has Tyreek Hill back, the fact that (Travis) Kelce is back on this team. They’ll be able to establish the running back position with Kareem Hunt being gone. Darrel Williams from LSU came in and did a tremendous job in this backup role,” Spears said. “They addressed issues on defense, which was the only thing that held them back. I think they’re a lock to be in the AFC Championship and I think they get past the Patriots and end up in the Super Bowl this year as well. I feel like this is Andy Reid’s breakthrough year with the Kansas City Chiefs.”
It will be very interesting to see how Mahomes fares in his sophomore season. The book now is fully out on the versatile signal-caller, and he’ll be hard-pressed to replicate his phenomenal rookie campaign. Not to mention, Kansas City will face one of the tougher regular-season schedules, as its 2019 opponents posted a collective .520 winning percentage last season, which ties for the fifth-highest mark in the league. The Patriots, meanwhile, own one of the easier schedules by these metrics.
Speaking of schedules, the Patriots will welcome the Chiefs to Gillette Stadium for a Week 14 clash on Dec. 8.
