The Chiefs' quest to become the first team in NFL history to win three consecutive Super Bowls won't be easy.
Kansas City has one of the oddest schedules in the league and should face some steep competition in the AFC with emerging teams and ones that healed from an injury-riddled 2023 season. Some of the best coaches in the NFL will also be gunning to take down the two-time defending champs and take their place atop the league.
However, one coach that could thwart the Chiefs' chances early is one many might have brushed aside this offseason for several reasons: Jim Harbaugh of the Los Angeles Chargers.
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NFL.com's Judy Battista wrote that one of her bold predictions for the 2024 season is that Harbaugh and the Chargers pose an immediate threat to the Chiefs' supremacy in the division because of how this team will play under their new head coach. Harbaugh's offense could also become a problem for the vaunted Chiefs defense even despite the Chargers losing Keenan Allen, Mike Williams and Austin Ekeler this offseason.
If there was a concern with the Chiefs' defense in 2023, it was against the run. Enter Harbaugh, who has succeeded everywhere he has coached with a ground-and-pound approach, no matter how gifted a quarterback he had. Justin Herbert is exceptional, and he will benefit from Harbaugh's emphasis on the run and the offensive line. Gus Edwards and J.K. Dobbins will run behind an offensive line anchored by Joe Alt and Rashawn Slater, with a game plan designed by Greg Roman. That will take some of the load off Herbert, who lost receivers Keenan Allen and Mike Williams, but Herbert could thrive in a ball-control-style offense. Harbaugh has proven throughout his career that he can turn around a team quickly. He'll give the Chiefs the most trouble they've faced from the Chargers since 2021 (the last time the Chargers beat the Chiefs) and that's just the start.
There's some validity to this argument. The Chiefs' run defense allowed the 24th-most yards per carry this year at 4.5 yards and the 18th-most total rushing yards at 1,925. Romans' offenses in San Francisco, Buffalo and Baltimore, meanwhile, never ranked worse than eighth in rushing yards and only finished outside the top 10 in rushing yards per carry twice in his 10 years as an NFL offensive coordinator.
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This shouldn't be enough to sink Kansas City, though. The Chiefs' defense finished among the best in the NFL this past year and was the main reason they came back to win the Super Bowl against the 49ers. The team also retained key pieces like defensive tackle Chris Jones, pass rusher Mike Danna and linebacker Drue Tranquill.
Herbert is a threat under center and has a beefed-up offensive line, but the offense as a whole lacks firepower. Edwards and Dobbins are injury-prone, and the best wide receivers on the team are Josh Palmer, 2023 first-rounder Quentin Johnston and 2024 second-rounder Ladd McConkey.
Harbaugh and the Chargers should be more interesting than many predict, but it's difficult to see them seriously threatening the Chiefs to win the AFC West in 2024.
