Even With Chiefs Out, NFL Has A Big Competitive Problem

Last weekend's NFL storylines revolved around one team: the Kansas City Chiefs. 

The Chiefs, after years of dominance and postseason success, will miss the playoffs for the first time since 2014. Patrick Mahomes, arguably the league's most famous and accomplished current quarterback, tore his ACL in a loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, and a return for the start of the 2026 regular season seems optimistic. Despite outscoring their opponents by 60 points, the Chiefs are done.

It's a crazy turn of events; just a few weeks ago, the Chiefs were still Super Bowl favorites. And it made sense that they were. The Chargers, for example, have just a +31 point differential, substantially worse than Kansas City. The 9-5 Texans, winners of six in a row, have outscored their opponents by just 35 points. Put another way, Kansas City's point differential is 11th in the NFL, ahead of likely playoff teams like the Chicago Bears. 

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The upcoming Super Bowl will be the first without the Chiefs since 2022, and just the second since 2019. Yet even without the league's most dominant team, there's little to suggest more competitive balance is coming to the NFL. And therein lies the problem.

Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs speaks with an official during the third quarter against the Houston Texans at Arrowhead Stadium on December 7, 2025 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by David Eulitt/Getty Images)

NFL Is Dominated By Same Few Organizations

There's still several weeks until the playoffs start, and as we've seen with the Daniel Jones injury in Indianapolis, things can change quickly. Within the playoffs, upsets can happen, though they're much less likely in the NFL than in say, Major League Baseball. 

But looking at it now, the list of teams with the best opportunities to win a Super Bowl sounds like reading a list of the most recent teams to make or win the Super Bowl. Outside the Chiefs, of course.

The Philadelphia Eagles won the Super Bowl last year and lost to the Chiefs in February 2023. They made the Super Bowl in 2018 too. They're running away with the NFC East and have all but locked up the No. 3 seed. Then there's the Los Angeles Rams, who have a strong claim as the league's best team this year. They won the Super Bowl in the game played in February 2022. 

Another team in a strong position to make a deep postseason run? The New England Patriots. It's not like they've had any postseason or Super Bowl success in the past 10-15 years. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are tied atop the woeful NFC South after winning a Super Bowl in 2021. 

There are a few possibilities that a new team could break through; the Buffalo Bills can finally avoid the playoff matchup with the Chiefs that's haunted them year after year. The Seattle Seahawks have also been impressive, with a chance to make their first Super Bowl since the 2015 edition. 

But for the most part, it's a who's who of the same teams, year in and year out. Since the 2018 Super Bowl, there have been just seven different organizations to play in the last eight championship games. Many of those are back in the hunt for the 2026 game. Meanwhile, 11 different MLB teams have played in the World Series over that time frame. 

Also, 22 percent of NFL teams have made the Super Bowl in the last eight attempts, while 37 percent of MLB teams have made it.

Baseball comes in for criticism for a supposed lack of competitive balance, with the claim being that it's possible to "buy" a championship. It isn't, but that hasn't stopped the complaints. Yet the league with the least balance is the NFL. Even with the Chiefs out due to a combination of injuries, a tough schedule and bad luck, that still might not change this year. That's where the league has a problem on its hands.