Chiefs ranked behind Broncos in power rankings

The Kansas City Chiefs are somehow ranked behind the Denver Broncos in ESPN’s power rankings.

Any time a team is the defending champion, they deserve respect. This should certainly be the case for the Denver Broncos, who were able to author a great run in last year’s playoffs to win the franchise’s third Super Bowl.

All that being said, Denver is getting ranked eighth in the ESPN power rankings, one spot ahead of the Chiefs. The Minnesota Vikings are slotted at 10th, rounding out the top 10. As for the AFC, the New England Patriots, Cincinnati Bengals and Pittsburgh Steelers are deemed the three best teams.

Here’s  y issue with these rankings… how is Cincinnati ahead of any of the other four AFC teams we have mentioned? The Bengals have not won a playoff game in 89 years. All the others won one last season. I’ve criticized Chiefs fans in the past for being upset when people bring up the playoff history, but it mattered until Kansas City finally broke through. As of now, the Bengals are a great regular season team with no postseason chops.

As for the Broncos, this is a team with Mark Sanchez at quarterback. It’s also a group without Vance Walker, Danny Trevathan, Evan Mathis and Malik Jackson. It’s a vastly different group than the team that won the Super Bowl.

Nobody is suggesting Kansas City should be ranked ahead of Carolina, Arizona, New England or Green Bay. After that? You could absolutely make the case.

Seattle is a solid team but without any offensive line and no longer with Marshawn Lynch. Pittsburgh has Martavis Bryant and Le’Veon Bell suspended, not to mention tight end Ladarius Green is yet to practice because of headaches.

The Chiefs are getting some respect at No. 9, but it still feels low for a team that could absolutely win 12-13 games this season.