For the first time in four years the AFC entry in the next Super Bowl will not be named the Kansas City Chiefs.
K.C. appeared in the last three NFL championship games, winning two in a row before losing last year 40-22 to the Philadelphia Eagles in a failed bid for a Super Bowl three-peat.
The Chiefs were defeated 16-13 by the AFC West Division rival Los Angeles Chargers in Week 15, a result that left them officially eliminated from this season’s playoffs. To add insult to injury, All-Pro quarterback Patrick Mahomes left late in the game with a torn ACL.
Kansas City, at 6-and-8, will have to sweep their last three regular season games just to barely eke out a winning record. That’s small consolation for a franchise that has played in five of the last six Super Bowls, winning three. K.C.’s streak for consecutive playoff appearances ends at 10.
Now the AFC crown is up for grabs. Who stands the best chance of replacing the Chiefs in Super Bowl LX in Santa Clara? Here’s a look at the contenders:
BUFFALO BILLS
The Cardiac Kids wiped out a whopping 21-point deficit in a thrilling comeback road win over division rival New England in Week 15 and, it says here, cemented their status as No. 1 contender for the AFC title. Yes, the Bills seem to thrive on living dangerously, but with All-World QB Josh Allen at the helm, this club can never be counted out.
DENVER BRONCOS
Best record in the conference at 12-and-2 and riding an 11-game win streak. Yes, the Denver Broncos. These guys are for real. You’ve got to love gunslinging QB Bo Nix and veteran head coach Sean Payton, a Super Bowl winner, is pulling all the right levers in the Mile High City.
JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS
If the Broncos are for real, what about the Jags? At 10-and-4 and winners of their last five, Jax must be taken seriously. Yes, it was against the woeful Jets, but QB Trevor Lawrence was absolutely lights out in a 48-20 romp in Week 15.
HOUSTON TEXANS
Like Jacksonville, the 9-and-5 Texans are coming off a lopsided Week 15 victory after stiff-arming a hapless Arizona Cardinals club 40-20. Houston has won six in a row.
NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS
Were the hottest team in the AFC until blowing a huge lead in Week 15 at home to Buffalo and muffing the opportunity to clinch the East Division pennant. I like Drake Maye at QB and Mike Vrabel is definitely the right coach in the right place at the right time, but the Pats took a big tumble back down to earth last week.
LOS ANGELES CHARGERS
Coach Jim Harbaugh’s team earned the distinction of putting Kansas City out of its misery in Week 15 and look quietly dangerous right about now.
PITTSBURGH STEELERS
I still believe veteran QB Aaron Rodgers will be back in his sensory deprivation cave sooner than later, but you have to respect the way resilient Pittsburgh has returned to the conversation among AFC contenders.
BALTIMORE RAVENS
A healthy Lamar Jackson at the QB controls always gives Baltimore a chance, but he has yet to prove he can win the big one.
PREDICTION: Bills advance to the Super Bowl for the first time since a 30-13 loss to Dallas in 1994.
NEW GRIZZLIE GROWLS
Jack Ricketts is making a strong case for himself in his first season of professional hockey.
Ricketts is the son of Belleville native John Ricketts, who was a member of the Tier II Belleville Bulls club that advanced to the 1981 Centennial Cup in Halifax. A six-foot-one, 195-pound forward, the younger Ricketts had posted eight goals and 16 points in his first 21 games as a pro with the Utah Grizzlies of the ECHL.
The 26-year-old Ricketts starred in the OJHL with the Oakville Blades before embarking on a successful NCAA Div 1 career in the U.S. He signed a free-agent deal last spring with the NHL’s Utah Mammoth.
Meanwhile, the minor-league Grizzlies will be making a cross-country move in the ECHL next season as the longtime Utah-based franchise will be relocated to Trenton, NJ. Prior to the arrival of the NHL Mammoth (formerly the Arizona Coyotes) last season, the Grizzlies were the only game in town in Salt Lake City.
