The Kansas City Chiefs lost on Sunday night and their streak of AFC West division crowns is over at nine, making it the second-longest streak in NFL history. At 11-2, the Denver Broncos have a five-game lead over the Chiefs with four to play and no chance they fall behind KC.
Kansas City Chiefs’ AFC West streak is over at nine seasons
The Kansas City Chiefs can’t win the AFC West anymore. It’s the first time since 2015 the Chiefs won’t be a division winner.
Denny Medley-Imagn Images
Matt Warren is Associate Director of NFL coverage for SB Nation and previously covered the Buffalo Bills for Buffalo Rumblings for more than a decade. If it has to do with math, he covered it, from NFL playoff standings to salary cap analysis.
The Chiefs are now barely alive in the playoff race and their run on the Buffalo Bills’ record of four straight Super Bowl appearances is in peril, as well.
The last time the Chiefs did not win the AFC West was 2015 when they finished second. The streak predates Patrick Mahomes, with Alex Smith starting in both 2016 and 2017 with Mahomes as the backup in 2017. They lost in the divisional playoffs as a wild card in 2015.
The Chiefs will need a lot of help to make the playoffs as a wild card team in 2025 and try to match the Bills’ record of four straight Super Bowl appearances.
The longest division title streaks in NFL history
Eleven straight NFL division titles
The longest division-winning streak is the New England Patriots, who won eleven straight titles from 2009 to 2019. It should probably be even longer. The 2008 Patriots went 11-5 despite losing Tom Brady to injury in Week 1 and failed to qualify for the playoffs. If Brady doesn’t get hurt, there is a real chance the Patriots go from 2003 to 2019 without someone else winning the East.
Nine straight NFL division titles
The Kansas City Chiefs were on a nine-season streak winning the AFC West. The Broncos and Chargers will fight it out in 2025.
Seven straight NFL division titles
The Los Angeles Rams of the 1970s won seven straight from 1973 to 1979. In a league where some divisions had five teams, the NFC West only had four for most of that run.
Six straight NFL division titles
Three teams are tied with six straight division championships — a list the Buffalo Bills still hope to join in 2025. The 1950-55 Cleveland Browns, the 1973-1978 Minnesota Vikings, and the 1974-1979 Pittsburgh Steelers all share the number.
The Browns won the NFL American and NFL Eastern divisions in the early 1950s which featured six teams, making their streak the only one on the list with so many potential teams ready to strike.
The Vikings began their NFC Central run in 1973 with four total teams in the division, but finished with five after the expansion Tampa Bay Buccaneers joined in 1976.
The 1973 Steelers lost the division on a tiebreaker before rattling off their consecutive titles.
Buffalo needs to win on Sunday against the Patriots and some help to keep their streak going.
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