3 ‘Bold’ NFL Predictions Involve Chiefs Rivals Upsetting Patrick Mahomes, KC

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes seemed as motivated as ever when he addressed the media during mandatory minicamp, and the latest bulletin board material should continue to fuel KC’s fire as three recent “bold” NFL predictions directly overlook the reigning 3-time AFC champions.

NFL.com writer Jeffri Chadiha published a June 19 article suggesting 10 “way-too-early bold predictions for 2025 NFL season,” three of which involved Chiefs rivals finally upsetting Kansas City. They were:

• The Buffalo Bills overcoming KC and winning the Super Bowl.
• Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow taking home his first regular-season MVP award.
• And the Denver Broncos ending the Chiefs’ streak of nine straight AFC West titles.

Let’s tackle each of these 2025 NFL predictions one by one, shall we?

Broncos Predicted to Take Down Chiefs in AFC West

These predictions are supposed to be “bold,” but the Broncos swiping a division crown away from an improved Kansas City roster is perhaps the most audacious of Chadiha’s theories.

“The Chiefs have reigned over the division since 2016, and they’ve barely been challenged during most of the years that quarterback Patrick Mahomes has been under center,” the NFL.com columnist wrote. “Most of that success comes down to the Chiefs’ greatness, but they’ve also been helped plenty by the ineptitude of the teams sharing the AFC West with them.”

“Kansas City has been led by future Hall of Fame coach Andy Reid during that entire run of dominance,” he continued. “Every other team in the division has had at least four different head coaches within that same stretch. That churn appears to have slowed, though, with Pete Carroll ([Las Vegas] Raiders), Jim Harbaugh ([Los Angeles] Chargers) and Sean Payton (Broncos) now working in the AFC West.”

Chadiha went on to argue that Payton has the best roster of the three challengers, boasting an “elite defense” and a new franchise quarterback in Bo Nix. He added that “we know Payton can coach up the offense, especially as the Broncos add more playmakers.”

Chadiha concluded that with the Chargers and Raiders providing more resistance than in years past, Denver is now “good enough” to steal a division title away from the Chiefs.

But this one falls under the “prove it” category. KC has dominated each of their division rivals under Reid and Mahomes, and they always put extra preparation into those games.

Yes, the Broncos went 1-1 against the Chiefs last year, and they were a blocked field goal away from potentially going 2-0, but Kansas City didn’t play any of their starters in Week 18, and the Chiefs are 17-3 against Denver since 2015.

NFL Prediction Sees Bills Finally Winning Super Bowl

Buffalo winning the Super Bowl is far less unheard of, simply because they’ve gone toe-to-toe with the Chiefs in most of the recent AFC postseasons. And if they can do that, they should have a pretty decent chance of beating whichever NFC team makes it to the championship game.

“This team has too much talent and smart coaching to continually miss out on opportunities to get over the hump, which is why this prediction makes so much sense today,” Chadiha argued. “Quarterback Josh Allen is coming off his first MVP season. The defense added some nice pieces in the 2025 NFL Draft, including speedy cornerback Maxwell Hairston and edge rusher Landon Jackson. [And] the schedule also looks favorable, with Buffalo playing 10 games against teams that didn’t produce a winning record in 2024.”

Similar to the Broncos, the Bills must prove that they can actually come up big in the clutch moments and get past the Chiefs, but the formula to do so is there.

Buffalo has consistently beaten Kansas City in the regular season, with a 4-0 record since 2021. Unfortunately, they have also gone 0-4 in the playoffs since January of 2021.

If the Bills can figure out how to transfer what they’ve been doing in the regular season to the postseason, they might have a legitimate shot to win it all with Allen still in his prime.

Bengals’ Joe Burrow Wins MVP Over Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes in 2025

The most likely of these three NFL predictions is probably Joe Burrow winning MVP over Patrick Mahomes. There is voter fatigue when it comes to Mahomes and the Chiefs, and the two-time NFL MVP hasn’t even sniffed the award over the past couple of years.

Mahomes is primed for a resurgent season as a passer, considering all the talent KC has added at wide receiver. But if the Bengals do well, Burrow will always be looked at as more of a “most valuable player,” based on their porous defense.

“Burrow is going to receive a lot of attention for this honor because he got plenty last year, when the Bengals were stumbling and fumbling their way through a frustrating season that ended with them missing the playoffs for the second straight year,” Chadiha noted.

The writer also reminded readers that Burrow “led the league in passing yards (4,918) and touchdowns (43) [in 2024] while only throwing nine interceptions.”

“If the Bengals return to the playoffs, then their offense is going to be prolific,” he concluded. “That puts Burrow in a position to earn a lot of love.”