Less than 24 hours after the Kansas City Chiefs won their second Super Bowl in a row (and third in the last four years), fans inside Broncos Country have to be realizing the monumental challenge that sits in front of them.
While the Broncos have had trouble getting out of their own way in recent years, the Chiefs have built one of the most successful organizations the league has ever seen. And while the Broncos are riddled with questions this offseason, the Chiefs don't really have any that are pressing.
But make no mistake, they wasted no time stating that they plan to turn this into a three-peat.
That absolutely cannot happen if you are a Broncos fan. It's bad enough that the Chiefs have done what they have already done, but no team in NFL history has ever won three Super Bowls in a row. The Chiefs are now in a position to become the first.
In addition, the Chiefs' fourth Super Bowl win is now the most in the AFC West.
This is certainly annoying for Broncos fans, but the bad news is that it could certainly get even worse. This Chiefs team is not going anywhere and though there were some rumors floating around that Andy Reid might retire after the Super Bowl, that thought has already been put to bed.
To make matters worse, the Los Angeles Chargers hiring Jim Harbaugh as their head coach puts another massive roadblock in the way. If you think the Chargers won't be competitive with him on the sidelines, you are kidding yourself.
Even the Las Vegas Raiders — who have beaten the Broncos eight straight times — are in at least as good of a position as Denver is right now.
The Broncos don't even know who their future quarterback is as of right now. Meanwhile, Patrick Mahomes is only 28 years old and already has won the Super Bowl three times. That's more than John Elway and Peyton Manning each won during their entire careers.
If you look back to the dynasty that was created by the New England Patriots, look how long it took before the other three teams in that division — the Bills, the Dolphins and the Jets — were relevant again.
Buffalo went 18 straight seasons without making the playoffs. Remember when they were one of the best teams in the AFC every year, similar to how Denver once was?
The Dolphins went to the playoffs with Dan Marino 10 times. Following his retirement in 1999, they have made the playoffs in just six seasons.
The Jets have not made the playoffs at all since the 2010 season, the longest current playoff drought in the league.
Sure, a lot of these teams' ineptitude can be chalked up to poor play and poor decisions in the front office. But it's much more because they were beaten regularly by the Patriots for so long and more specifically, because the Patriots had Tom Brady.
Now the Chiefs have that guy. And the other three teams in the AFC West are going to be chasing him for a long time to come.
For the Broncos, the distance between them and where Kansas City currently sits seems further away than ever.