3 teams the New England Patriots are chasing now in the AFC

1. Kansas City Chiefs

The reigning Super Bowl champions deserve the top spot on this list, just as they do most any list that involves power ranking the NFL right now.

It took 40 years, but the Chiefs finally captured their second Super Bowl title in franchise history last year, taking down former Patriots QB Jimmy Garoppolo and the San Francisco 49ers down in Miami last February.

Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes was Super Bowl MVP a year after he won league MVP in 2018. At just 24 years of age and entering his third full season as starter, Mahomes is already the best active player in the NFL today.

From a historical standpoint, that honor belongs to Brady of course. But if we’re talking the best player today in the NFL — right now? It’s Mahomes in a landslide.

The Chiefs are more than just Mahomes though. Kansas City somehow managed to find a way to bring back all four of their top receivers from last season — Tyreek Hill, Sammy Watkins, Mecole Hardman, and Demarcus Robinson. Travis Kelce is back as arguably the best tight end in the NFL right now. And the Chiefs still have Damien Williams at tailback, their starter of the past couple seasons.

Perhaps most importantly, the Kansas City defense — which probably cost them an appearance in Super Bowl 53 after they fell at home to the Pats in the 2018 AFC Championship Game — took major steps forward last season under Steve Spagnuolo.

The Patriots fell behind 20-7 at the half last season when they hosted the Chiefs at Gillette Stadium in early December. New England managed to make the final score respectable (23-16) in a commendable losing effort, but it’s hard to believe the Pats are going to be able to hang with Mahomes and the Chiefs now that Brady’s a Buc.

Do you agree with our choices for the top three teams the Patriots will be chasing this season in the AFC? If not, let us know who you think we should have included instead in the comments below!