The biggest losers in the Hopkins trade are the teams looking to unseat Kansas City as the franchise to beat in the AFC.

While the Chiefs are undefeated, they’ve appeared vulnerable all season. Their defense is terrific (fifth in points allowed), but their offense has struggled (13th in scoring). Injuries, especially at receiver, haven’t helped Kansas City’s cause.

The Bills and Jets traded for receivers in an attempt to chase the Chiefs in what could be viewed as a down year for them. The Pittsburgh Steelers have become a serious threat, while the Baltimore Ravens, at least offensively, look like the best team in the conference.

However, Kansas City will be extremely hard to knock off in the postseason, especially if it nets the AFC’s No. 1 seed and home-field advantage.

The Chiefs didn’t earn the top seed in 2023, and they were in a similar position offensively during the regular season. They won road games against the Bills and Ravens in the playoffs and hoisted the Lombardi Trophy anyway because they found an offensive formula just in time for the postseason.

By acquiring Hopkins now, Kansas City gives itself a chance to click well ahead of the stretch run—and before its Week 11 playoff rematch in Buffalo. If Hopkins has the desired impact on Kansas City’s offense, overtaking the Chiefs as the top seed in the conference becomes an even bigger challenge for everyone else.

As of now, the road to Super Bowl LIX will run through Kansas City in the AFC. The last thing other Super Bowl hopefuls wanted to see was the Chiefs getting even stronger.