We don’t yet know who will win the AFC West.
But with Sunday night’s result, we do know another team that won’t.
With their loss to the Texans, the Chiefs have been mathematically eliminated from divisional contention. That ends a run of nine consecutive divisional titles for Kansas City.
The streak started in 2016, two seasons before Patrick Mahomes took over as the team’s starting quarterback.
At 6-7, the Chiefs can finish the season no better than 10-7. Denver won its 11th game of the season on Sunday, which means the club cannot finish any worse than the Chiefs.
Kansas City’s divisional streak is the second-longest in NFL history behind the Patriots’ streak of 11 consecutive AFC East titles from 2009-2019.
The Chiefs are currently No. 10 in the conference and will likely need a lot of help to just make it to the 2025 postseason. Kansas City will face the Chargers at home, the Titans on the road, the Broncos at home on Christmas Day, and the Raiders on the road to finish the year.
