Kansas City Chiefs

Are Kansas City Chiefs the team to beat in the AFC next season?

Updated Feb. 9, 2022 12:45 p.m. ET

It's never too early to look ahead.

Even though Super Bowl LVI between the Cincinnati Bengals and Los Angeles Rams is set for this Sunday, is it possible that next year's favorite in the AFC will be a team that is at home watching?

Nick Wright believes that to be the case.

"The Chiefs are the AFC favorites next season, and they should be," Wright said on Tuesday's "First Things First."

"The Chiefs have been the dominant team of this conference over the last five years. There's no reason that I think that's going to change because Patrick Mahomes and the offense had an inexplicably bad half of football."

Nick Wright: Chiefs will be AFC favorites next season

The Kansas City Chiefs were unseated as AFC champions after falling to Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals. But Nick Wright still views them as the conference favorites heading into 2022.

While it might be hard to envision the Chiefs in a positive light following their stunning loss to the Bengals in the AFC Championship — a game in which they led 21-3 going into halftime — there is reason to still have faith in them in 2022, starting with Mahomes.

Over the past four seasons, Mahomes leads the NFL in passing yards (18,707) and passing touchdowns (151), all while guiding the Chiefs to 49 wins as the starter and also hosting four straight AFC Championship Games.

Mahomes will also have his two favorite pass-catchers under contract for next season, Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce.

During the Chiefs' magical four-year run in the AFC, Hill and Kelce have been among the most dominant offensive weapons in the NFL.

Kelce is third in receptions since 2018 (397), while Hill is seventh (343). Hill is also fourth in receiving yards (4,854) and second in receiving touchdowns (43), while Kelce is second (5,106) and sixth (35) in both respective categories.

However, while the Chiefs will still have the NFL's most feared offensive trio on their side, Chris Broussard believes that the favorite in the AFC going into 2022 is the team that the Chiefs eliminated in each of the last two postseasons: the Buffalo Bills.

"Objectively, I think Buffalo should probably be the favorite," Broussard said. "Their defense, still tops in the league, will be back. Josh Allen will be back, and the Bills as a whole, you have a strong argument that they outplayed Kansas City in that loss in the divisional round."

The Bills lost 42-36 in overtime to the Chiefs this postseason in a game that is considered to be one of the greatest playoff games in NFL playoff history.

But until they defeat the Chiefs when it matters most, it's fair to assume the Chiefs will be favored over them in a postseason matchup, though Buffalo might have the pieces in place.

And of course, this conversation is contingent on if the Bengals bring home the Lombardi for the AFC a few days from now.

Or, maybe that doesn't matter as long as Mahomes is under center in K.C.