Michael Irvin explains rationale behind opinion-splitting decision to bet against Patrick Mahomes' Chiefs for 2025 Super Bowl

With Wild Card Weekend right around the corner, Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs will play no part in this round but will keep an eye on what goes down in the AFC over Saturday, Sunday and Monday. The Chiefs won't take the field until the Divisional Round where they could face the Pittsburgh Steelers, Los Angeles Chargers, Houston Texans or the Denver Broncos.

The path to the AFC Championship Game clearly runs through the Chiefs at this point. The reigning Super Bowl champions are favored to go all the way to New Orleans to battle it out in their quest for a historic three-peat but Dallas Cowboys legend Michael Irvin is not willing to back the Chiefs going all the way.

Earlier this week, Irvin said he would put his money on Jared Goff's Detroit Lions beating the Chiefs. On Wednesday, the three-time Super Bowl champion doubled down on that take while replying to a fan on X:

"It's not about Patrick Mahoems playing in a dome. It's about Detroit not having to play outside in the cold where they have struggled prior to this year."

Earlier on FS1's Speak, Irvin had explained:

“The best chance they [the Chiefs] had went out the window when this Super Bowl was played in New Orleans. They’re going to finish this thing in a dome. The Detroit Lions will play all the way in a dome. The best chance the Chiefs had was to get them outside. They won’t see them outside.”

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Ranking Patrick Mahomes and Kansas City Chiefs' potential opponents in NFL Playoffs

Patrick Mahomes' Chiefs could face one of four teams in the Divisional Round - the Texans, Steelers, Chargers or the Broncos. They cannot face the Bills or the Ravens until the conference championship round.

Of the four, our predicted bracket looks a little like this, courtesy of our free NFL Playoff Predictor.

NFL Playoff Predictions for Patrick Mahomes' Chiefs

It's difficult to see the injury-hit Texans get past Jim Harbaugh's Chargers, who are on a hot streak.

The Chargers would then be the division's lowest-ranked seed, leaving them to go up against the well-rested Kansas City Chiefs, who we are predicting will go all the way to the Super Bowl after beating the Ravens in the Championship Game to face the Eagles at the Caesars Superdome in February.