Yes, some NFL pundits didn’t believe in the Chiefs this season. Here’s what they said

Following Super Bowl LVII, Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce was criticized by some for his proclamation that no one believed the Chiefs would be champions this season.

However, Kelce and the Chiefs likely heard what doubters were saying last spring after All-Pro wide receiver Tyreek Hill was traded to the Miami Dolphins.

It wasn’t a lone voice in the wilderness saying the Chiefs were in trouble. There were quite a few people who thought the Chiefs would take a step back this past season.

Here’s a closer look at what those people were saying.

The NFL Network’s Adam Rank in June picked the outcome of every game to be played in the 2022 season. He had the Chiefs going from first to worst in the AFC West as he saw the Broncos, Raiders and Chargers finishing ahead of KC.

“So for the first time in years the Kansas City Chiefs, despite winning 10 games, will not make the playoffs,” Rank said in a video on NFL.com. “You heard it here first. Go ahead and light me up in the comments there. I don’t care.”

ESPN’s Bart Scott was the most notorious doubter and he said the Chiefs wouldn’t make the playoffs. “The other defenses in this league is miles ahead of the Kansas City Chiefs and they’re going to pay the price,” Scott declared last summer.

Sports Illustrated’s Greg Bishop was one of the many people who jumped on the Chargers’ bandwagon before the season started.

“I see the Chiefs as a notch below their level from previous seasons, and I view the Chargers as an elite team that’s on the rise,” he wrote. “I probably like them more than most.”

Pro Football Talk’s Charean Williams predicted the AFC playoff field would be: “1. Bills; 2. Colts; 3. Bengals; 4. Raiders; 5. Dolphins; 6. Chargers; 7. Steelers.” Yep, she left the Chiefs out of the postseason.

NFL Network host Rich Eisen already has publicly apologized to Chiefs fans for saying the Raiders would be the team to beat in the AFC West.

“I am sorry, Chiefs Nation. .... I am sorry, to every Kansas City Chiefs fan and every single person on the staff of the Kansas City Chiefs, certainly on the offensive side of the ball that I thought Tyreek Hill departing would knock them a peg down to a mere wild-card team, down to a team that would have to actually pack a bag and play a playoff game not named the Super Bowl in a place other than Arrowhead.

“I apologize because that was the worst take I’ve ever had.”

A Twitter user with the handle Obi-Wan Mahomie shared this compilation of some of the other Chiefs’ doubters.