ESPN’s misleading graphic about the Chiefs triggers fans in KC and around NFL
Well, ESPN didn’t get this wrong, but hoo-boy, they did upset a lot of Chiefs fans.
Because the Chiefs missed the playoffs this season, there will be a new AFC champion. The Chiefs made the Super Bowl in five of the previous six seasons.
The only time the Chiefs failed to advance to the Super Bowl in that span was in 2021, when they were beaten by the Bengals. ESPN noted in an X post that “for the first time since 2018, the AFC will crown a new champion other than the Chiefs or Bengals.”
The Bengals have been the AFC champions just once this century and are out of the postseason for the third straight year, so it seemed odd to mention Cincinnati.
It may not have been ESPN’s intention, but Chiefs fans were incredulous that the Bengals were included in the graphic. Others, like NFL broadcaster Kay Adams, thought ESPN knew just what it was doing.
“The most ragebait ragebait of all time,” Adams wrote on X. She earlier noted: “I’m howling” and included three laughing emojis.
One Chiefs fan wrote: “Cincy made it one time and is anointed for a decade”
“Lmaooooo acting like the bengals and chiefs been going back and forth with the crown,” wrote another.
A third shared this: “Bengals fan intern posted this didn’t they?”
Here is a bit more of what fans of the Chiefs and other NFL teams were saying on X.
This story was originally published January 6, 2026 at 9:02 AM.
