Longest division title streaks: Kansas City Chiefs on brink of nine in a row

Each passing season seems to move the Kansas City Chiefs one step closer to matching the legacy of the New England Patriots’ Tom Brady-Bill Belichick era.

Kansas City could clinch a ninth straight divisional title with a win over the Los Angeles Chargers on “Sunday Night Football.” Should they clinch on Sunday night, or at any point down the stretch, they’ll be within arm’s reach of the Patriots’ all-time record.

The Chiefs already have the second-longest streak of consecutive division titles in NFL history after surpassing the 1970s Los Angeles Rams last year. But they still need to win three more in a row – including this year – to match the Patriots’ record of 11 between 2009 and 2019.

With its 11-1 record, Kansas City already holds a three-game lead over the Chargers in the AFC West headed into Sunday’s clash. Even if the Chiefs lose and their lead shrinks to two games, they’ll still have four more weeks to try to clinch the title and extend their streak.

Here’s a full list of the longest division championship streaks in NFL history:

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Longest NFL division title streaks

T-4. Cleveland Browns (1950-55); Minnesota Vikings (1973-1978); Pittsburgh Steelers (1974-79)

If there’s one thing to take away from this list, it’s that it’s very hard to accomplish what the Chiefs have in the last seven or eight years, especially in the modern era.

The Browns, Vikings and Steelers all put together six-year runs of division title wins in the middle of the 20th century. Until the mid-2010s, those streaks were tied for the second-longest in NFL history.

When the NFL substantially overhauled its scheduling system and expanded the regular season to 16 games in 1978, those streaks died shortly thereafter. No team was able to win six or more divisional titles in a row again until the Patriots hit that mark in 2014, 35 years later.

Notably, all three of these teams to earn six straight division titles relied heavily on strong defense. The Browns gave up the fewest yards and fewest points in 1953 and 1954, the first time in NFL history a team managed to do it twice in a row. The Vikings had the “Purple People Eaters” on the defensive line. The Steelers had the “Steel Curtain.”

3. Los Angeles Rams (1973-79)

Like the other teams dominating the NFL around this time, the Rams were able to win consistently because of their defense. They finished in the top three in the NFC in points allowed every year besides 1979 during this run.

Unlike some of the other dynastic teams, the Rams also wore opponents down on offense. They consistently scored over 300 points per season in a time where there were only 14 games in a season. The Rams won just one Super Bowl during their excellent run, but they held onto the record for longest divisional win streak for 35 years.

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2. Kansas City Chiefs (2016-present)

The Chiefs’ run of dominance dates back to before Patrick Mahomes came to town. Head coach Andy Reid and then-Chiefs starter Alex Smith brought Kansas City back to prominence in the mid-2010s. Then Mahomes took over in 2018, and the rest is history.

The Chiefs have found many ways to win over the last few years. They’ve had super-powered offenses help bring them championships, and when their offense took a step back, their defense stepped up and showed off how dominant it can be.

This year has been one of the strangest Chiefs seasons during this run as Kansas City continues to find the most bizarre ways to win: blocked field goals, botched snaps and game-winning drives against the Carolina Panthers, to name a few.

If the Chiefs are able to win the AFC West looking like they have this year, there really might be nothing stopping them from reaching the levels of dominance the Patriots had over their division in the 2000s and 2010s.

1. New England Patriots (2009-2019)

Every NFL fan older than 10 years old remembers how dominant the Brady-Belichick Patriots were.

Every year, they had a defense among the best in the league. They had Brady’s consistency under center. They had a plethora of excellent pass-catching weapons from Wes Welker to Aaron Hernandez to Rob Gronkowski to Julian Edelman.

The Patriots’ streak was almost even more (seemingly) unbreakable. New England won five straight division titles from 2003-2007, but in 2008, they lost the division to the Miami Dolphins thanks to a conference record tiebreaker. If they had won the AFC East that year, they’d have won 17 in a row.