Chiefs Four Biggest Potential Rivals Over the Next Decade – Part I – With the Chiefs signing Patrick Mahomes to what amounts to, a twelve-year deal, I would like to take a look into which teams present themselves as the biggest potential rivals for our beloved Kansas City Chiefs over the next decade. Now for the sake of avoiding any confusion, let’s go ahead and define “rival” for the purposes of this article. I am using the term rival to describe the teams that are going to give the Chiefs the most trouble over the next decade: the teams that are going to be tough and stay competitive during the Chiefs projected dynasty over the next ten-plus years. I am going to try and stick to one team per division in the AFC that I think has the best chance to stick around the most at the tops of their respective divisions. Why? Because, that means more meetings in the playoffs, and more regular season matchups as the Chiefs are likely to continue their division dominance for years to come. Therefore, let’s dive right in to the top threats to a Chiefs dynasty and our biggest potential rivals over the next decade.
The Baltimore Ravens
The Pittsburgh Steelers are the next closest team from this division as of right now, but they are getting older and will have some key positions to fill in the near future. Their defense is absolutely their strong suit these days, so if quarterback Ben Roethlisberger can show that he still has some left in the tank, then I can see the Steelers being potentially problematic, just not for very long. The Browns are still the Browns until I see more consistency and success from Baker Mayfield. They’ve surrounded him with talent in Cleveland and he was wildly mediocre. The Bengals could be an interesting dark horse pick with Joe Burrow taking over, but they have a long way to go and the Baltimore Ravens are by far and away the team to beat in the AFC North.
Make no mistake about it… Lamar Jackson is no joke. All running-back jokes aside, Lamar Jackson is one of the best young athletes in the league and will likely continue tearing up the competition for years to come.
Head Coach John Harbaugh has created a great system in Baltimore that is built behind the running game. Mark Ingram, Lamar Jackson, and now rookie, J.K. Dobbins are one big three-headed monster in the run game, there’s no doubting it. On top of that, Lamar Jackson can really throw the ball, and viewing him as just a mobile quarterback can be extremely dangerous. Their biggest weakness might be at the wide receiver position, with second-year Marquise “Hollywood” Brown being Lamar’s best option at the position, followed by seasoned vet, Willie Snead. At tight end, they have a very under-rated duo of Mark Andrews and Nick Boyle, a solid blocking tight end used heavily in the run game who can sneak out on defenses in the red zone. As long as Lamar can learn to protect himself, the biggest concern for any team with a mobile quarterback, then the Ravens offense has enough young talent to stay relevant for quite a while.
Having a solid offense is less than half the battle of putting together a competitive football team year-in and year-out. The Baltimore Ravens have all the right pieces to put a top-notch defense and special teams on the field each week. They have a similar defense to the Chiefs in that their strengths lie in the secondary and defensive line. Marlon Humphrey, Earl Thomas and Marcus Peters lead one of the stronger defensive back groups in the NFL. Derek Wolf and Calais Campbell lead their physical defensive line.
I think the biggest problem the Ravens have on defense is age. Of the five mentioned standouts on defense, Marlon Humphrey is the youngest heading into his fourth NFL season. Calais Campbell could retire at any moment. However, the front office of Baltimore is a solid group of executives that have made some quality moves the past few years, so I fully expect the Ravens to continue to build and remain one of the top teams in the AFC. The biggest reason for a potential Ravens vs. Chiefs rivalry however, the matchup between Lamar Jackson and Patrick Mahomes.
The Indianapolis Colts
Some might think that it makes more sense to pick the Houston Texans out of the AFC South. With Deshaun Watson at the helm for years to come, that quarterback duel alone has the potential to build into a rivalry, not to mention the number of playoff matchups the Chiefs and Texans have had already in the past few years. However, as long as head coach Bill O’Brien is acting as the team’s general manager, I just can’t consider them a reliable threat over the long term. I also briefly considered the Tennessee Titans since we just played them in the AFC Championship game. The Titans are absolutely a good football team, but I just don’t see them being this good for very long. Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill is good, don’t get me wrong, but I see him more as a game manager than a playmaker. I don’t think a team in today’s NFL can all jump on the back of a single running back and ride him into multiple division titles and playoff victories over a large span of time.
That brings me to the Indianapolis Colts, and it starts from the top: general manager Chris Ballard. Ballard has made enormous strides in creating a quality team top to bottom in Indianapolis. Losing Andrew Luck to a surprise retirement was a massive loss, but the way the Colts rebounded has me convinced that they are going to be just fine in the long run. Philip Rivers might not be the short-term answer for them at quarterback, but who knows? He actually has an incredible offensive line in front of him finally, so with some actual time in the pocket, maybe Philip can out-perform his last few sub-par years with the Chargers. After Rivers retires in a year or two, the Colts will have options to move on with Jacoby Brissett or rookie Jacob Eason. I know quarterback is the most important position on the field, but when a team has depth at virtually every other position on the field, they stand a really good chance of withstanding the test of time in the NFL.
Offensively, the Indianapolis Colts have a dynamic rushing game and a slightly above-average passing game. The biggest threat comes from running the ball to the left side behind left tackle Anthony Castonzo and All-Pro left guard Quentin Nelson.
The running game is lead by running back Marlon Mack while Nyheim Hines filled in very well as the second string last season. They also added rookie running back Jonathan Taylor in this year’s draft, as well as rookie wide receiver Michael Pittman who should fit in nicely as a #2 opposite T.Y. Hilton. You may remember this catch:
If Jacoby Brissett can develop his game a little further or Jacob Eason turns out to be a quality starter in years to come, watch out for the Indianapolis Colts to surprise some people in years to come.
The Indianapolis Colts have a surprisingly good defense. They added DeForest Buckner to the pass rush along with former-Chief Justin Houston. Bobby Okereke has played very well in his young career, and many people thought linebacker Darius Leonard was snubbed out of winning Defensive Rookie of the Year last season after leading the NFL in tackles by a relatively wide margin.
Rock Ya-Sin and Malik Hooker lead the Colts’ very youthful backfield. The Colts are a very young team (3rd youngest in 2019) and with the solid roster that star-studded front office has assembled, I would not be surprised at all if they become one of the biggest non-division rivals of the Chiefs over the next decade. After all, the post-Andrew Luck Colts are already 1-0 against the Chiefs after their surprising Sunday Night victory at Arrowhead last season.
Can you guess who I think the other two rivals with tenure are going to be? Tune in tomorrow to find out in Part II of: Chiefs Four Biggest Potential Rivals Over the Next Decade. Before that reveal… let me know who you think should make this list.
David Beck — ArrowheadOne
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