NFL power rankings: Kansas City Chiefs linger outside of top 10
By Matt Conner
The latest round of NFL power rankings are out and the Kansas City Chiefs remain firmly implanted in the top half of the league.
The latest round of NFL power rankings are out from several sources and the Kansas City Chiefs continue to sit higher than fans might expect.
The Chiefs have lost their last two games to teams who they were widely expect to trounce, coming out of the bye week into the easiest part of their regular season schedule. Instead the Chiefs allowed a fading Buffalo Bills team to steal a game at Arrowhead Stadium and they laid an outright egg at MetLife Stadium in a game against the miserable New York Giants.
In both games, the offense has struggled to put together anything consistent. They struggle with penalties and communication, execution and playcalling. The Chiefs aren’t converting third downs, and oftentimes, the passing play called comes up well short of the sticks. The run game has completely shut down after dominating the league early in the season as well.
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Given the recent slide, Chiefs Kingdom has been pushing for head coach Andy Reid to make a switch at quarterback from Alex Smith to Patrick Mahomes.
With all of this playing out in recent weeks, you would think that NFL analysts would be down on K.C. more than they are. Instead, the latest round of NFL power rankings are giving the Chiefs a ton of credit. For instance, Yahoo! Sports has the Chiefs at No. 12 overall and Frank Schwab writes:
"The Chiefs have an easy schedule the rest of the way. They play at Jets, vs. Raiders, vs. Chargers, vs. Miami, at Denver. If the Chiefs win the two home games in Weeks 14 and 15 against their AFC West rivals, they’re very likely to win the division. It just doesn’t look like a team anymore that can make a playoff run."
The Chiefs fare just a bit worse in ESPN’s poll at No. 15 overall, a sign that the Chiefs still hold a winning record at 6-5 and a division lead while simultaneously acknowledging their pifitul play over the last 6 weeks.
The Chiefs come up a bit short in CBS Sports and NFL.com’s power rankings. Elliot Harrison, a writer for NFL.com, puts the Chiefs at No. 18 overall, while CBS is a bit kinder at No. 17. However, Pete Prisco asks the right question:
"What has happened to this team? They can’t score anymore. Was the fast start a mirage?"
The Chiefs have five games left on the schedule within which to make a leap back into the Top 10 and secure their AFC West lead. But at this rate, fans really don’t want to make of the Chiefs, a reality illustrated by just how spread apart they are in various power rankings.