AFC West: Biggest question for each team in 2021

ST JOSEPH, MISSOURI - JULY 28: Tight end Travis Kelce #87 of the Kansas City Chiefs runs up field during training camp at Missouri Western State University on July 28, 2021 in St Joseph, Missouri. (Photo by Peter Aiken/Getty Images)
ST JOSEPH, MISSOURI - JULY 28: Tight end Travis Kelce #87 of the Kansas City Chiefs runs up field during training camp at Missouri Western State University on July 28, 2021 in St Joseph, Missouri. (Photo by Peter Aiken/Getty Images)
1 of 3
AFC West
Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports

The team with the longest active playoff streak in the league rules the roost among this foursome. Is any club capable of dethroning Andy Reid’s squad?

Talk about an odd division, this AFC West?

It took the Kansas City Chiefs 50 years to get back to the Super Bowl and now they’ve been there two years in a row. Andy Reid’s club has won the AFC West five consecutive years and the team owns the longest current playoff streak in the league with six consecutive appearances.

However, there are other teams in the division that, though they’ve been chasing Kansas City of late, could be ready to make a push.

Can any of the other three teams dethrone the Chiefs in the AFC West?

Before that, the Denver Broncos won the AFC West five straight years and culminated that run with the win in Super Bowl 50. But the Men from the Mile High City have not been back to the playoffs since, a streak of five consecutive years.

What about the Chargers, who have made just one postseason appearance since 2010? That came in 2018 and since then the club owns a combined 12-20 record. Now there’s a new head coach in town as former Rams’ defensive coordinator Brandon Staley takes over.

Of course, there’s also the Silver and Black and a team that hasn’t won a postseason contest since winning the AFC Championship Game vs. the Titans in 2002. Head coach Jon Gruden has had the Raiders in contention the past two seasons but the club can’t seem to close the deal.

Perhaps the biggest question here is whether the Chiefs can make it three straight appearances on Super Sunday? It’s obviously easier said than done, although the New England Patriots just pulled the trick from 2016-18.

NOTE: Teams are listed in order of finish in 2020.