Are the Chiefs the next ‘top dog’ to take over the AFC?

For almost twenty years, the New England Patriots have had a firm grasp on the American Football Conference. Together, quarterback Tom Brady and Head Coach Bill Belichick have accomplished the greatest football dynasty in the history of the National Football League; winning nine AFC Championships and six Super Bowl titles from 2001 to 2019.

But as Brady turns a new chapter in his NFL career by signing a two-year contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, transferring him to the NFC, it leaves many to wonder who will become the next alpha that takes over the AFC in the upcoming decade.

For as long as anyone can remember, the Pats dominated the other 15 clubs that shared the AFC conference. Playing New England at Gillette Stadium in the postseason was almost a lost cause for most opposing teams because most couldn’t compete with the talent and greatness that Brady’s team displayed on the field with most cases ending with number twelve coming out on top to eventually put another Lombardi in New England’s trophy case and another ring on his finger.

For the other teams in the conference, there wasn’t any way around it. If your team had championship aspirations, they needed to take down the greatest quarterback and head coaching duo in the league to do it.

But it wasn’t just Tom Brady’s Patriots that ruled the AFC, Ben Roethlisberger’s Steelers and Peyton Manning’s Colts/Broncos teams have also managed to sit atop the NFL’s elite from the AFC and have managed to represent the conference in the Super Bowl a few times themselves.

The elite competition between these three passers during the early 2000s and the 2010s, created a finer line of competition in regards to talent that the rest of the conference couldn’t compete with. Surmounting the Patriots, Steelers and Peyton’s Colts and/or Broncos as the axis powers that typically competed amongst themselves to decide who represented the AFC at the end of each season for almost two decades.

Today, things are different.

Following 2019, the NFL heads into a new decade, and era, of football as a new crop of talent embarks on the journey to surmount their name as one of the elite. 

As Brady moves on to play for Bruce Arians and the Bucs, he leaves behind a conference that is currently wide open for the taking. 

Now with Peyton retired, Brady in the NFC and Big Ben on his last heels, the stage is getting set for teams with bright, young stars at quarterback like the Kansas City Chiefs, Baltimore Ravens, Houston Texans, and Buffalo Bills, to establish a new pecking order as new axis power begins to take form inside the American Football Conference.

The Chiefs have already taken a huge leap forward with Patrick Mahomes, who has become the new face of the National Football League. Mahomes has been an NFL prodigy in his first two seasons as a starter, throwing for 9,412 yards,76 touchdowns to 18 interceptions, two trips to the AFC Championship game and already won a Super Bowl. 

The early signs of greatness from Mahomes is nothing short from impressive and has been downright remarkable. Having already defeated Lamar’s Ravens twice and Deshaun’s Texans in the postseason, Mahomes is already at the forefront at replacing Tom Brady as the new alpha of the AFC. If he keeps it up, there isn’t any doubt that he could arguably become one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history.