Can the Kansas City Chiefs claim their 10th straight AFC West division title? Our football experts Chris Raybon and Stuckey break down their predictions for the entire division, plus a couple of NFL futures bets they like.
Continue below for their favorite AFC Westpredictions for the 2025 NFL season, which include a team total pick for the Chargers, and a bet on the Chiefs to win the Super Bowl.
NFL Futures — AFC West Predictions
| NFL Futures Picks |
|---|
| Chargers Under 9.5 Wins (-105) |
| Chiefs to Win the Super Bowl (+850) |
Chargers Under 9.5 Wins (-105)
I'm going under on the Chargers' win total this season as I project them at 8.5.
They didn't do much to improve their defense, which was good last year, but the only team they beat that made the playoffs was the Broncos.
I think they need some of the rookies to step up on defense to get back to where they were last year, because their defensive line is starting to look like a weak spot.
The linebackers are okay; the secondary is okay. And I like Jesse Minter, but that said, there's probably some regression on the horizon, especially in the turnover department.
The other thing that hurts is that I'm not sure that they really addressed their weakness in the skill-position department.
We're probably going to see more two-tight end sets. They have one solid wideout in Ladd McConkey. They added Keenan Allen. Is he going to be their WR2? What does he have left?
Maybe they'll hit on some of the rookies, but they really need to hit on the Omarion Hampton pick at running back. And if they do, then what happens?
Will the offensive line be good enough to support him? The Bolts lost Rashawn Slater to injury — that's massive, possibly devastating for this unit.
On the flip side, the defense wasn't great against the run last season. They also weren't great at generating pressure with the pass rush.
It was just a well-schemed defensive attack, and I'm not sure that they will reach that same level that they did last year, given the resources at their disposal.
Lastly, look at their schedule. It's going to get tougher.
The Chargers had one of the five easiest schedules in the league last season, and now their schedule will be slightly above average in terms of difficulty. Plus, they don't have much of a home-field advantage.
I don't see it with the Chargers this year. I'm out.
Chiefs to Win the Super Bowl (+850)
The Chiefs posted a record of 15-2 last season. Their Pythagorean win expectation was 10.2, which makes their 15 wins last year the largest over-performance ever.
They went 11-0 in one-possession games, 12-0 if you include the playoffs. But that's kind of what the Chiefs do, right?
Maybe last year was a little bit extreme. They will likely have some regression in one-score games — but even if they regress significantly, what is that going to cost them? Three wins?
The one thing I worry about with this team is that the defense has stayed so healthy for like five straight years. Will that finally change? We'll see if their their rookies can help. I think their pass rush will be better.
I do think they are overpriced in the betting market in many ways, but you usually get the premium that you paid for when it comes to Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid.
I'm looking at some of the deeper futures. You know, +850 to win the Super Bowl, +850 to lose the Super Bowl, I think your sweet spot is somewhere in there.
One way or another, I still think this team gets to the conference championship game at the very least.
Just bet on the Chiefs to do what they usually do, although I do think regular season is going to be tougher for them this time around.
