The Kansas City Chiefs enter the 2022 NFL season having hosted each of the last four AFC Championship Games. However, despite being at home for these games, the Chiefs only won two of those four. Sure, they have one ring during this run so far, but they have been in a position to crown themselves a dynasty and thus far haven’t delivered.

With the AFC getting better and better seemingly every day this offseason, it has become more difficult for the Chiefs to get over the hump and win another championship in 2022. This is even without mentioning the numerous departures on defense and the high-profile departure of Tyreek Hill. Coupled with the hardest schedule in the league according to Sharp Football Analysis, and the Chiefs may be in for a much rougher season than they’re accustomed to dealing with.

With that, here’s three predictions for how the 2022 NFL season will go for the Kansas City Chiefs.

*Watch NFL games LIVE with fuboTV (click for free trial)*

Chiefs Way Too Early Predictions For The 2022 NFL Season

3. JuJu Smith-Schuster records 1,000 yards for first time since 2018

It has been a roller-coaster ride the last few seasons for JuJu Smith-Schuster since his breakout rookie campaign all the way back in 2017. In that year, he logged 917 yards, and then he followed it up in 2018 by posting 1,426 yards on a staggering 111 catches.

However, injuries and slight inconsistency have plagued the former USC Trojan in recent years, as his average yards per reception has fallen from 13.7 in the first three seasons of his career to just 8.6 the last two. That's without mentioning that Smith-Schuster missed out on 12 games last season through injury.

However, things are looking up for Smith-Schuster in KC. A lot of his struggles in 2020 and what he was available for in 2021 can be attributed largely to horrible-at-best quarterback play. Whether it was Mason Rudolph, Duck Hodges or the shell of Ben Roethlisberger, Smith-Schuster never had even remotely adequate quarterback play in the last couple years.

What's his reward?

Possibly the best quarterback in football to throw him the pigskin. Tyreek Hill is gone as well, which means that Smith-Schuster is in line to receive boatloads of targets, likely only falling second to Travis Kelce.

2. Chiefs fail to win AFC West for first time since 2015

How else can one describe the talent acquisition that has gone on in the AFC West this offseason other than by calling it a nuclear arms race?

For the Los Angeles Chargers, it meant picking up JC Jackson and Khalil Mack to bolster their defense as a complement to their incredible offense.

For the Las Vegas Raiders, it was trading for and locking down Davante Adams.

The Denver Broncos not only have new ownership, they have a new quarterback. Someone you might recognize by the name of Russell Wilson, perhaps? Speaking of the Broncos, the last time someone other than the Chiefs won this division, it was a Peyton Manning-led Broncos team, who would also go on to capture a Super Bowl 50 title that year.

It seems more likely than not, given the insane amount of talent now concentrated within the AFC West, that someone other than Kansas City will be division champions. Also to put in perspective how long Kansas City has ruled this division, you might remember in 2013 when the Chiefs blew a 38-10 lead against the Andrew Luck-led Colts in the playoffs. That game was the last time the Chiefs played a playoff game outside Arrowhead Stadium.

They'll likely have to do it again in 2022.

1. Chiefs miss out on Super Bowl berth once again

Remember what I mentioned about the Chiefs not playing a road playoff game since 2013? The Chiefs also weren't exactly a great road team in 2021. They finished 5-3 on the road, dropping games on the road to the Cincinnati Bengals, Baltimore Ravens, and a blowout loss away to the Tennessee Titans. All three of those teams are either 2021 playoff teams, or playoff-caliber teams, not to mention the Chiefs also logged fairly narrow road wins against the Broncos, Philadelphia agles and Chargers, all playoff-caliber teams in 2022. The only commanding road victories the Chiefs had in 2022 were against the Washington Commanders, a team which figures to once again be near the bottom of the standings, and the Raiders, who the Chiefs blew out in both meetings in 2021.

Against non-Raiders playoff teams in 2021, the Chiefs went 4-3 which sounds fine, but it misses the added context of a 13-7 win against a frankly hapless Green Bay Packers team that had Jordan Love at the helm, along with a blowout win against a Steelers squad that was lucky to make the playoffs.

Perhaps this weakness gets solved in 2022, but if not, the Chiefs may struggle with their toughest in the league schedule, which contains a stunning eight games against 2021 playoff teams. The Chiefs also have to play the Chargers and Broncos twice, along with the Indianapolis Colts and San Francisco 49ers, who figure to be right back in the playoff hunt as well in 2022. In fact, the Chiefs really only have three games against teams that don't look to be playoff contenders, those being the Jacksonville Jaguars, Houston Texans, and Seattle Seahawks.

All this sets up for more heartbreak and disappointment in January for Chiefs fans, who know their team has had, and still has, the opportunity to become a dynasty but just hasn't gotten over the hump to do so.