3 reasons the Kansas City Chiefs should be Super Bowl favorites

Champions until dethroned. Despite losing twice as many games as they did a season ago, the perennial powerhouse that resides in the AFC West isn’t going quietly. It’s hard to pick against a club that has reached the Super Bowl three of the past four seasons.

For the second time in four years, the Kansas City Chiefs are still in position to repeat as Super Bowl champions. All Andy Reid’s team has to do is get past the top-seeded Ravens at Baltimore on Sunday, which will be easier said than done. No team has won back-to-back Lombardi Trophies since the New England Patriots turned the trick in 2003 (XXXVIII) and ’04 (XXXIX).

The Chiefs are underdogs at Baltimore on Sunday afternoon. With all due respect to John Harbaugh’s club, picking against the reigning Super Bowl champions may be an exercise in futility. This is a balanced team on both sides of the ball.

3. Young and effective defensive unit

You could make a case that this the team’s best defensive showing since the second half of the 2019 season, when coordinator Steve Spagnuolo’s unit caught fire for nine games, including the postseason, on the way to winning Super Bowl LIV.

This season, only the Ravens (280) allowed fewer points than the Chiefs (294). Meanwhile, Kansas City gave up the second-fewest total yards in the league. Kansas City finished with 57 sacks, second only to Baltimore (60). The team managed only 17 takeaways and showed some vulnerability to the run. However, the Chiefs have allowed only 33 offensive touchdowns in 19 total contests. A year ago, in 20 total games, Kansas City surrendered 51 offensive TDs.