We try not to make it a habit to listen to Jason McIntyre.
It's not as if McIntyre is known for educated angles or nuanced takes. There's a reason why blowhards are given air time in a world where networks have to fill the airwaves with attention-grabbing content 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Still, we hope that NFL's talking heads would at least try to retain some shred of personal dignity.
On his latest rant on the The Herd with Colin Cowherd, McIntyre went on and on about the Chiefs' chances in 2025 and came to the conclusion that he didn't like them. Nine consecutive AFC West titles, be damned.
We're not sure why we're listening to this guy either.
"[When] you look at the last three years, Kansas City has played 10 playoff games," said McIntyre. That's more than half another season. We see this in the NBA all the time. When you make a run to the finals two, three years in a row, that following year, you're drained. The bodies are breaking down. The players are wearing down. And it's very, very difficult to keep that sustainability going.
"I'm making the call here. It's mid-April, before the draft.I don't think the Kansas City Chiefs are a playoff team next year."
Now, before making that statement, McIntyre does his best to bolster that ultimate argument. He mentions last year's deceiving point differential. He points to the upcoming suspension for Rashee Rice. He mentions the offensive line concerns and the questions around incoming starter Jaylon Moore. He also gets to Travis Kelce's age and decline.
All of those are salient points. The Chiefs do have questions to answer. There are roster holes to address. There are concerns that remain even after the bulk of free agent activity has concluded. But to say they're a middling team that will concede their high ground in the division to the likes of the L.A. Chargers or Denver Broncos is silly.
The Chiefs won 15 games last season. They've won 9 straight division titles. They've hosted every AFC Championship but one since Mahomes took over as the starting quaterback (and they won that single game where they were on the road in Baltimore.) They're the league's reigning dynasty with the game's best quarterback still under the age of 30. They're also led by a Mt. Rushmore head coach.
Just because McIntyre needs to see style points in order to trust a victory doesn't make him right. It just means he's saying things to say them, and he knows that discrediting the Chiefs is a quick way to turn heads.
McIntyre is nothing more than a mascot, someone paid to distract everyone and kill time. He's the guy on the side of a strip mall spinning an arrow sign upside down and back again, encouraging you to check out the mattress store.
The sad thing is that some NFL fans might listen to him and take things seriously. And somehow, for some fans, the Chiefs are going to have to prove all over again that they're not going anywhere anytime soon.
