Just when NFL fans thought that the Kansas City Chiefs were as beatable as ever, they’re peaking at the perfect time. Kansas City improved to 15-1 after their dominating 29-10 win on Christmas Day on the road against the Pittsburgh Steelers and clinched the No. 1 seed in the AFC in the process. The AFC playoffs will run through Arrowhead, and Kansas City’s banged-up stars will receive an important week off.

If it wasn’t already obvious, the Chiefs are clear favorites to win another Super Bowl. Not only does their record speak for itself, but again, they’re playing their best football at the perfect time. Their defense has been elite all season long, but Patrick Mahomes has played two brilliant games in a row against two stout defenses.

While the Chiefs should be clear favorites to pull off the three-peat, it’s far from a slam dunk that they’ll actually pull it off. These five teams currently look like the biggest threats standing in their way of achieving that goal.

5. The Vikings deserve more respect than they’re given

Most NFL fans have been extremely complimentary when discussing one of the most surprising teams in the league this season. The Minnesota Vikings were pegged by many as a team that would likely finish in last place in an improved NFC North. The Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers had two of the best rosters in the league, and the Chicago Bears looked much improved on paper as well. Meanwhile, the Vikings lost Kirk Cousins and were turning to the unproven Sam Darnold under center.

Those who predicted that the Vikings would struggle this season couldn’t have been more wrong. Not only is Sam Darnold looking like the most improved quarterback in the NFL, but Minnesota’s Brian Flores-led defense has been incredible. While they’re one of the most surprising teams in the league, they should be viewed as more than just a feel-good story.

The Vikings are 13-2. Whether you believe a Darnold-led team can win a Super Bowl or not, that record cannot be ignored. While their schedule has been fairly light, they’ve beaten playoff teams like the Packers and Texans while narrowly losing to the Lions.

Darnold has been stellar, Justin Jefferson might be the best receiver in football, and the Vikings rank third in opponents’ points per game (18.4). They have a defense capable of making things difficult for Mahomes, and the personnel on offense to score enough, if this Super Bowl matchup were to take place.

4. The Eagles can beat any team when right

It feels as if the Philadelphia Eagles have been subject to criticism more than most, but they are 12-3 and have one of the best rosters in the NFL with stars littered all over the place on both sides of the field.

The Eagles lost in a frustrating fashion this past week, but have defeated playoff teams like the Steelers, Ravens, Rams, and Commanders, with most of those wins coming convincingly. They had also won 10 games in a row before losing on Sunday.

While they’ve had their share of clunkers and have a frustrating head coaching situation, would anyone be surprised if an offense consisting of Jalen Hurts, Saquon Barkley, A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, and a loaded offensive line found a way to score at will? Would anyone be surprised if a defense that has surrendered just 18.9 points per game shows up?

They might not always play like one of the best teams, but their roster is as good as any. The Eagles are legitimate threats if they were to see the Chiefs again in the Super Bowl.

3. Lamar Jackson is bound to have his postseason breakout sometime, right?

Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson have the same number of MVP wins. With how Jackson has played this season, he might overtake Mahomes in MVPs. The reason why nobody considers Jackson to be a better quarterback than Mahomes is because of what Mahomes has been able to do in the playoffs and what Jackson has not done on the biggest stage.

The Chiefs come close to winning the Super Bowl just about every year if they don’t end up doing so, while the Baltimore Ravens have just two playoff wins in Jackson’s seven-year career. Jackson lost to Mahomes in last year’s AFC Championship Game with home-field advantage.

That luck is bound to change, right? Not only is Jackson doing ridiculous things on the ground, but he leads the NFL with 39 touchdown passes while throwing just four interceptions all year. He’s had an MVP-caliber year, and he also narrowly missed out on beating the Chiefs in Week 1 of the regular season.

Baltimore’s defense has had its ups and downs this season but looks as good as it has all year lately. Additionally, this Jackson-led offense has been virtually impossible to stop with Derrick Henry joining him in the backfield. Jackson’s inability to perform thus far in the playoffs is why nobody would pick the Ravens to beat the Chiefs. Again, that luck is bound to change, though, right?

2. The Lions have looked like the best team in football for much of the season

16 weeks into the NFL season, it feels like the Detroit Lions have exceeded their sky-high expectations. They’ve looked like the best team in the NFL for much of the season, and their 13-2 record would back that claim up.

Detroit’s first of their two losses came in Week 2 of the season when they were still getting acclimated to the new year, and their second loss came in a game in which they allowed 48 points. The defense is a bit iffy, especially with the slew of injuries they’ve dealt with on that end in particular., but their offense is as good as any, and even with Mahomes, will the Chiefs be real threats to score 40+ points?

Obviously, Kansas City’s defense is better than that of Buffalo’s, but the Lions have put up points at will against elite defenses. The Chiefs, however, have scored 30 points just once all season long. They haven’t scored more than 30. They average just 24.1 points per game, nearly 10 fewer than Detroit.

This Lions offense is as explosive as any in the NFL, as they lead the league averaging 32.9 points per game. If they got there, the Lions might not be favored to beat Kansas City in the Super Bowl, but they’d certainly be the NFC’s best shot of dethroning Mahomes and Co. in February.

1. The Bills have done what no other team has been able to do

The Chiefs have lost just one game this season, and it came back in Week 11 against the Buffalo Bills. It’s important to note that their meeting was in Buffalo and if they were to match up against each other in the playoffs, it’d be in Kansas City. With that being said, though, why can’t the Bills win at Arrowhead?

Now, Josh Allen is 0-3 against Mahomes in the playoffs, and is 0-2 against the Chiefs on the road in the playoffs, but those numbers don’t tell the whole story. Allen played insanely well in one of those two road losses in Kansas City, and he led the Bills to a win in Kansas City in the 2023 regular season. Allen, like Lamar Jackson, is going to prove that he can beat the Chiefs in the playoffs, but there’s reason to believe it can happen.

Despite losing Stefon Diggs, Allen has had a terrific season and has done a great job of limiting turnovers. He’s thrown just six interceptions all year after throwing 18 last season. Taking care of the ball and not gifting Mahomes and Co. extra opportunities — as Mahomes did to Allen in their matchup earlier this season — would go a long way.

Again, the Bills are going to have to prove that they can beat the Chiefs in the playoffs, but the fact that they’ve already done so this season gives them a leg up over the rest of the competition when it comes to ranking Kansas City’s biggest threats.

This article was originally published on fansided.com as NFL Power Rankings: 5 biggest threats to derail Chiefs 3-peat Super Bowl chances.