Jamaal Charles On Chiefs Being AFC Underdog: ‘They Are the Team To Beat’
Jamaal Charles still believes the Kansas City Chiefs are the team to beat in the AFC.
The former four-time Pro Bowl and three-time All-Pro running back knows firsthand how good of a coach Andy Reid is. Charles played four seasons under Reid (2013-2016) and led the league in rushing touchdowns during Reid’s first season in Kansas City.
Kansas City has been to the AFC Championship Game in each of the last seven years since Patrick Mahomes took over and they’ve played in five of those Super Bowls.
The Ravens and Bills both have better odds to win the conference in 2025, per Bovada, but Charles says his former team should not be the underdog.
“I think definitely in the division (the AFC West) that they are the team to beat,” Charles told Gambling Industry News in an exclusive interview. “They’ve been in the running in the AFC Championship Game for the last six years. They are the team to beat (in the AFC). They have a great coaching staff as well. They have great coaches all around them. That’s what makes them who they are.”
While everyone obviously remembers how disastrous the Chiefs’ showing was in their 40-22 Super Bowl LIX loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, people forget how unbeatable Kansas City appeared throughout the season.
Ignoring their Week 18 loss to the Denver Broncos — where they sat Mahomes and the majority of their starters — the Chiefs lost one game during the regular season and that was to the Buffalo Bills.
The Chiefs actually set an NFL record by winning 17 consecutive one-possession games. 11 of their wins during the regular season last year were by one possession.
You also have to factor in that the Chiefs will return their top two receivers, Rashee Rice and Marquise Brown, after missing them for the majority of last season. Rice was limited to just four games while Brown was limited to just two games.
“You gotta have that piece at quarterback, he’s (Mahomes) another puzzle that you know will get you there,” says Charles of Mahomes. “You gotta have the people on defense, Chris Jones, another person on the interior defense to get in the trenches. We have these people in the trenches on the offensive line that help elevate your game and get you to the next level.”
Charles acknowledges the two teams that will threaten the Chiefs are the Bills and Ravens.
“I think the teams that are really knocking on the door are Buffalo and Baltimore,” says Charles. “They are always going to be a big question mark. Besides those two teams, I feel like they have to go out there and out-dominate the Chiefs.”
Charles: Bills Are The Chiefs’ Main Rival
When asked which of those two teams is the bigger threat to the Chiefs, Charles says it’s the Bills.
“The Bills are definitely the biggest rivalry,” says Charles. “We’ve been facing them for the last four years in the playoffs and we were able to come out on top the last couple of years. Definitely the Bills have definitely been a big rivalry since I was playing for the Chiefs as well. They have a great organization, a great stadium, and a great fan base too as well. So that doesn’t surprise me what the Bills have been able to accomplish over the last couple of years.”
Charles was widely regarded as one of the top players in fantasy football during his NFL career and for good reason. Charles is the all-time leader in yards per carry (5.4) for players with at least 1,000 carries and he was named one of the NFL’s top 75 players in five of years from 2011 until 2016.
Fantasy football players have always been a die-hard group that often puts a lot of pressure on real NFL players. That pressure has exacerbated in recent years with gambling largely becoming legalized across the United States.
Charles: Pressure From Sports Bettors Tough on Athletes
Charles details some of the scrutiny that he endured during his own playing career from 2008 until 2018. The former Chiefs running back missed the majority of the 2011 and 2015 seasons due to an ACL injury.
“For me, it was when I got injured, and just seeing all the nasty stuff that was being written about me like I planned to get hurt — like I didn’t plan to get hurt,” says Charles. “This accident happened, and it was just disappointing how I was getting all these nasty messages on Twitter. On Twitter, I was getting nasty notes, ‘You messed up my fantasy football league.’ The fantasy owners, they feel like they own you.”
The 38-year-old former running back has empathy for players who have to deal with that pressure and scrutiny, especially as social media continues to grow online.
“They think football is controllable, sometimes it’s not,” says Charles. “Some things you can’t control, and it does put pressure on certain players. When they make money, when certain players are making plays and scoring touchdowns every week and finally, he doesn’t score a touchdown. Finally, he doesn’t run 100 yards or 50 yards. It puts a lot of pressure, and you see nasty stuff written by people. You got to have a great mental mind to get past those comments online.”
DJ Siddiqi is a sports reporter who focuses on football, basketball and pro wrestling. He has covered some of the biggest sporting events, including the NBA Finals and Wrestlemania and often interviews high-profile athletes. Siddiqi has interviewed the likes of Dan Marino, Emmitt Smith, Shaquille O'Neal, Tony Hawk and Giannis Antetokounmpo.