We are past the halfway point of the NFL season, and the Kansas City Chiefs are 9-0, looking to continue their quest for a three-peat. Everyone knows about dynamic quarterback Patrick Mahomes and what he has accomplished so far throughout his career.

We also can’t forget about the greatness of Travis Kelce and Andy Reid along with the elite defense that the Chiefs have at their disposal.

Even with all of Kansas City’s pieces, they have shown that they are flawed in certain areas. Losing Rashee Rice for the year back in Week 4 was a major loss, as the main issue with the Chiefs’ offense has been the lack of a true No. 1 receiver.

Kansas City did trade for DeAndre Hopkins back on Oct. 24, which is certainly an upgrade and will make things interesting in terms of witnessing how much Mahomes can elevate his game with a receiver of Hopkins’ caliber in the fold.

There’s a certain narrative that’s been traveling around the NFL world that you can’t bet against Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid; very similar to the prime years of the Tom Brady and Bill Belichick duo.

A few of Kansas City’s wins this season have been nail-biters, as seven of their nine wins this season have come in one-possession games; it’s easy to look back to and make the case that those games could have easily slipped away. It’s extremely difficult to win those one-score games consistently, and it’s usually the difference in close battles will be Patrick Mahomes.

Playing in so many close games, there eventually has to come a time when you finally lose one, or even a few of them, right?

Another interesting point is that as great as Mahomes is, he hasn’t had the greatest season statistically. Entering Week 11, the 29-year-old superstar has thrown for 2,208 passing yards, 12 touchdown passes, nine interceptions, and has a quarterback rating of 67.7. He has evolved into more of a game-manager-type role, but that’s not to take away from how special of a quarterback he is. Mahomes is already an all-time great and is only going up from here. This is just what we have seen from him this season and something we may need to permanently adapt to.

Looking at the landscape of the AFC, the main teams that can contend with Kansas City are the Baltimore Ravens and the Buffalo Bills.

Although this is based on the regular season, there has to be a point where there can eventually be a team that can stand in the Chiefs’ way of not making and winning the Super Bowl.

The Ravens have the most explosive offense in football with Lamar Jackson once again having another MVP-caliber season, along with Derrick Henry, who through Week 10 already has over 1,000 rushing yards.

Baltimore is ranked No. 1 in total yards with 440.2 per game, No. 3 in passing yards with 257.6 per game, and to the surprise of no one, No. 1 in rushing yards with 182.6 per game.

Baltimore has always been known as a run-heavy offense since Lamar Jackson took over for Joe Flacco during the 2018 season, but their already explosive rushing attack upgraded significantly with the free-agent acquisition of Henry. The weapons through the air are good enough for Lamar Jackson, highlighted by Zay Flowers, Rashod Bateman, Mark Andrews, and the recently-acquired Diontae Johnson.

If there is one issue that Baltimore has, it’s that their defense has taken a step back from last season, as they’ve experienced key losses on that side of the ball; not just in the form of player departure, but also their elite defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald, who took a head-coaching job with Seattle.

If the Ravens’ defense can continue to improve throughout the second half of the season, they can be a threat to anyone in the AFC including Kansas City.

On the other hand, the Buffalo Bills are 8-2; and despite all the talk of Lamar Jackson having an MVP-level season, Josh Allen has been right up there as well.

Back on Oct. 15, the Bills acquired Amari Cooper via trade with the Cleveland Browns to give Allen his new No. 1 target on offense after Stefon Diggs got traded to Houston during the off-season. Once the always-reliable Cooper settles into offensive coordinator Joe Brady’s offense and gains more chemistry on the field with Allen, Buffalo’s offense will undoubtedly be more lethal.

Defensively, the Bills have been around the middle of the pack as they rank 18th in total yards allowed. Buffalo will need Matt Milano, their standout linebacker, to return from injury to allow their defense to reach the next level. When healthy, the 30-year-old Milano is one of the best coverage linebackers in the NFL.

We have seen many battles between Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes in the regular season and the postseason. Allen has proven he can beat Mahomes in the regular season, but come playoff time, it has always been Mahomes emerging on top.

Not only the Bills, but the Ravens have also played in many competitive games with the Chiefs in recent years and it will be interesting to see if this is the year that someone prevents them from returning to the Super Bowl. Kansas City will always be the favorite as long as Mahomes is under center, but going back to Brady’s time with New England, there were years in which he didn’t win or even reach the Super Bowl.

It’s extremely difficult to hoist the Lombardi Trophy year in and year out, but that has become the expectation with Kansas City.

The main key to beating the Chiefs is making sure that you’re not giving Mahomes enough time late in the game to drive down the field and win it. For example, go back and look at their game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday Night Football. The Bucs had the ball last in regulation and scored a touchdown with under 30 seconds to go, but Todd Bowles elected not to attempt the two-point conversion to give Tampa the lead, and in all likelihood, the win. The game then went to overtime, and after the Chiefs won the initial coin toss and took the ball first, it was pretty much over. Mahomes knows that when his team needs him the most, he will deliver, and that’s what he did.

The road to the Super Bowl will always go through Kansas City, as they are the team to beat, but knocking them off the throne can be done.

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