KANSAS CITY, Mo. — When Denver won the 2015 AFC West title, it put the Broncos into a three-way tie with the Oakland/Los Angeles/Las Vegas Raiders and the San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers for the most titles in division history.
The Broncos, Raiders and Chargers all owned 15 AFC West crowns with the Kansas City Chiefs languishing alone in last place among current members with eight.
Flash forward eight seasons and the Chiefs stand alone.
Kansas City beat Cincinnati 25-17 on Sunday at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium to extend its record streak of AFC West titles to eight in a row.
“I think it says a lot about Coach [Andy] Reid and his staff,” Chiefs Chairman and CEO Clark Hunt said. “There definitely was some adversity this year.”
The latest division crown also gave the Chiefs an AFC West-record 16 division titles and a 10th postseason berth in 11 seasons under Reid.
“It’s great that we’re No. 1 in that category, and I’d give Andy all the credit for that,” Hunt said.
Kansas City’s division-title streak ranks as the second-longest in NFL history — trailing only the 2009-19 New England Patriots, who won a record 11 consecutive AFC East titles.
“It’s really hard to win in this league,” left guard Joe Thuney, who’s been part of both streaks, said. “Every team is so good and so competitive, so we really want to cherish the wins and learn from the losses. It was a happy locker room getting the hats and T-shirts for the division title. But there’s still a lot to play for, so we have to take it in stride.”
Defensive tackle Chris Jones called winning the division title “the most important goal” each season, and Hunt called eight straight an “incredible accomplishment.”
“It definitely is; it really always is,” quarterback Patrick Mahomes said. “It’s cool to win the AFC West.”
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