The Kansas City Chiefs may have won the last two Super Bowls, which is a rare feat in itself, but their quest for a three-peat will not be so easy. One of the big roadblocks they will have to overcome in 2024 is playing against the AFC North. It was the best division in football last year despite three starting quarterbacks being unable to finish the season. With all the quarterbacks presumably healthy—and the Pittsburgh Steelers upgrading their quarterback room—it has a great chance at being the best division in football once again. Jason and Travis Kelce talked about the Chiefs’ schedule on their New Heights podcast on Friday, and mentioned the AFC North as a tough draw.
“Is the AFC North the most competitive division in football? I say yes,” Jason Kelce said. “Especially with Burrow coming back healthy. I thought it was the most competitive last year.”
Every team finished above .500, and everyone but the Cincinnati Bengals made the AFC playoffs. A combined 43 wins by AFC North teams in the regular season was the most by a long shot. The NFC West and NFC North had the second-most wins with 35, for comparison.
The Steelers will be one of the most interesting teams to watch in 2024 with most of the same pieces, and some slight upgrades, on their defense as well as a pretty sizable overhaul on the offensive side of the roster. New quarterbacks, new offensive coordinator, and new offensive linemen.
“You throw DangeRuss on the Steelers, and all of a sudden, they’re a very intriguing football team,” Travis Kelce said of QB Russell Wilson.
The team spent the last two or three seasons with winning records despite poor quarterback play, so adding a potential Hall of Famer to the mix—even on the backside of his career—could make a huge difference. The defense has kept them competitive for the most part, and the Steelers added Patrick Queen, DeShon Elliott, and Payton Wilson as three players who should make a big impact in 2024. Injuries derailed the defense last year, though it is tough to be too critical, the Steelers finishing with a top-10 defense in points allowed with 18.4 per game.
“They’re in all the games because their defense is so good,” Jason Kelce said. “As long as T.J. Watt is healthy, Cam Heyward, as long as those guys are out there, they’re gonna be in most of the games. Mike Tomlin, they’re gonna have opportunities. They’re well-coached…I probably still think it’s the best division in football as long as everybody stays healthy.”
The Chiefs will get a chance to see just how good that defense is on Christmas Day when the two teams play each other exclusively streaming on Netflix. The Steelers host that game, so the Chiefs will be dealing with crowd noise on top of what should be a highly competitive defense in Pittsburgh.
