Kansas City legend Priest Holmes does not consider the Chiefs to be among the top two teams in the AFC. Instead, he recently named the AFC West rival Los Angeles Chargers and the Denver Broncos as his two top teams in the conference.
To be fair, the Chiefs are currently off to a 0-2 start on the 2025 NFL season compared to the Chargers’ 2-0 start and Denver’s 1-1 record, so far. Why did Holmes downplay the team he once rushed for?
Priest Holmes Snubs Chiefs From His Top Teams
Priest Holmes was a key running back in the league from 1997 to 2007. He played with the Chiefs, his second stop, following the Ravens (1997-2000), from 2001 all the way until 2007, when he retired.
Holmes said it wouldn’t be fair for him to list the Kansas City franchise among the teams in the league he considers to have the biggest upside.
“I would be biased by saying the Kansas City Chiefs, I’d be very biased by that,” says Holmes, according to RG. “Between the Denver Broncos, between the Chargers, those are two teams that definitely got some upside. They’ve been plotting, they’ve been scheming, and they’ve been building their teams and their organizations.”
He continued, “One of those top teams are going to come out of the AFC, and I think the Chargers are showing what they can do, and I think they’re moving in the right direction.”
Holmes concluded his career with 8,172 rushing yards across a whopping 1,780 carries with the Baltimore Ravens and the Chiefs. He also tallied 94 total career touchdowns, eight of which were receiving.
The Texas alumus is also among the players who have recorded the most consecutive games (11) with a rushing touchdown in NFL history.
Most consecutive games with a rushing TD in NFL history:
LaDainian Tomlinson – 12
Jonathan Taylor – 11
Priest Holmes – 11
Josh Jacobs – 11 (active)— NFL Talk (@NFL_Talk_Sports) September 20, 2025
Holmes also revealed that Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen can be looked at as overhyped and often has repetitive results.
“As much as I like the Bills and Josh Allen, we already know what they are capable of doing in the AFC,” says Holmes of the Bills. “Obviously, the Chargers, but the Bills, definitely, they’re a team that’s always been there. But they’ve always missed the dance, and we’ve seen that in almost two different eras of that team.”
Holmes continued, “Are the Bills a great team right now? Yes. Is Josh Allen playing incredible? Yes. But I think it’s going to be the same story that we’ve seen here over the past few years, where they get deep into the playoffs, and for whatever reason, that Cinderella slipper, they didn’t can’t put it on.”
Holmes retired in November 2007 due to a neck injury and has since been focused on philanthropic efforts. Meanwhile, the Chiefs are looking to get their first win of the year on Sunday in the Meadowlands against the New York Giants, who are also 0-2. Kick-off is slated for 8:20 p.m. ET on NBC.
