Top 10 AFC Teams Who Could Beat the Kansas City Chiefs in the 2024 NFL Playoffs

The Cincinnati Bengals have been the only AFC team to beat the Chiefs in the 2020s in the AFC title game. They also made it two years in a row but fell to the Chiefs in 2022. Last season was disappointing. Joe Burrow was injured for the rest of the year, and the Bengals failed to make the playoffs.

But with Joe Burrow coming back, he's been the one quarterback who has had success against Patrick Mahomes. The Bengals' window of opportunity to win the Super Bowl might not be over. In order to prevent the window from shutting, they have to beat the Chiefs in the playoffs.

It was bad for Miami that they had to play Kansas City in one of the coldest games in playoff history at Arrowhead Stadium. Perhaps warmer conditions would have been a different story, but the Tyreek Hill revenge game didn't go according to plan as they were badly beaten. The Dolphins have an elite offense, but this past season saw them struggle against teams with winning records.

If Miami wants to revitalize the glory days of the '70s, that needs to change. To make matters more complicated, they still play in the same division as the Buffalo Bills, who rallied from behind to clinch the division title.

Poor Buffalo. They seemed to be the team people believed would finally knock off Kansas City after losing to them in two previous playoffs. The Bills didn't have the best season last year, yet still finished second in the AFC and had a chance to beat the Chiefs. Instead, it was another infamous wide right kick plus a few other bad mistakes that cost the Bills badly.

Buffalo's window of opportunity is slipping, and they are to the Chiefs much like the Yankees are to the Astros or the Rockets to the Warriors. Part of a rivalry that is one-sided, and they're on the wrong side. Josh Allen is still a good quarterback, but he hasn't gotten Buffalo to the big game. Also in question is the head coach, Sean McDermott, who is being labeled as a coach who can't win the big game.

Few people expected the Houston Texans to be in the playoffs last season, especially with a rookie quarterback and a rookie head coach. But the Texans shocked everyone by not only reaching the playoffs but also winning the AFC South Division title and crushing the Cleveland Browns in the Wild Card game. The Texans fell to Baltimore in the next round, but the future is bright for them.

They do need to fix some holes to have a chance, and the challenges of having a first-place schedule next year will be there. But CJ Stroud has proven to be a potential elite quarterback after winning Rookie of the Year last year. The Texans are up-and-coming with the potential to be great.

Perhaps if there's another epic quarterback matchup in the works, it's Stroud vs. Mahomes. It would also come full circle between the two teams as the Chiefs' epic comeback in the last playoff meeting between the two sent them to the top while the Texans went down south. An opportunity for revenge is there for Houston.

After a crushing 34-10 win over the Houston Texans in the AFC Divisional round, the Baltimore Ravens had their chance to knock off Kansas City in last season's AFC title game as they had home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. But despite losing 17-10, the Ravens' offense never got into rhythm. When they did, they coughed up opportunities, which allowed Kansas City to escape with the win.

Lamar Jackson's MVP season went to waste, and now the Ravens will have to figure out how to better themselves to beat Kansas City. As of right now, the Ravens are the AFC equivalent of the Dallas Cowboys: a great regular-season team that can't be great in the playoffs.

The Jaguars were in prime position to reach the playoffs at 8-3, only to lose five of their last six games and miss the playoffs. Hoping that the collapse is a one-time thing, the Jaguars find themselves in a now-competitive AFC South division alongside Houston and Indianapolis. For Trevor Lawrence to turn things around, he will have to play as close to an MVP-type candidate as possible to give Jacksonville their third trip to the AFC title game and their first trip to the Super Bowl ever.

Jacksonville lost to Kansas City two years ago as a Cinderella team. But hoping to get back and use the experience, it's going to take a lot for them to overcome Kansas City if they are fortunate to escape their own division.

I honestly think the Jets might do pretty well next year. They have a great lineup even though they haven't made the playoffs in the last 12 years. Aaron Rodgers must help the Jets break that playoff streak next year. If not, my prediction will be wrong.

While Cleveland's quarterback scenario might be up in the air, they have statistically the best defense led by Myles Garrett. They also have an outstanding receiver in Amari Cooper. Last season's QB carousel had its ups and downs until Joe Flacco came in and played well, giving the Browns a playoff spot.

No question, if Flacco is back, he might keep Cleveland alive. How long that lasts remains to be seen.

The Indianapolis Colts were another surprising team last season despite not making the playoffs. They drafted a quarterback in Anthony Richardson, who had the potential to be great, only to be lost for the season due to injury. Still, the Colts were able to bounce back and find themselves in a playoff position led by Gardner Minshew.

Unfortunately, a dropped fourth-down pass ended their chances of making the playoffs. In an AFC South division that is expected to be competitive, the Colts might be the dark horse team to watch out for. If Richardson can reach his full potential and more, this could be a sign of a team to look out for if you're the Chiefs.

The Raiders have been a thorn in KC's side, especially after giving them a bad Christmas gift. But while the Raiders have questions at the quarterback spot, they do have a head coach in Antonio Pierce. Pierce gave the Raiders a strong finish despite missing the playoffs after the firing of Josh McDaniels.

It'll be interesting to see how Max Crosby leads LV's defense against the battle-tested Chiefs.