NFL power rankings: Kansas City Chiefs back among top teams

Three straight victories have catapulted the Kansas City Chiefs back among the league’s elite teams in the latest round of NFL power rankings.

Nothing like a strong showing in Foxborough to change the minds of voters on various NFL power rankings. Over the last few weeks, the Kansas City Chiefs have been sitting just outside the NFL’s top teams, typically somewhere between 7 and 10 overall depending on the analyst. After Sunday’s victory over the New England Patriots, however, the Chiefs are back with the league’s elite.

The latest round of power rankings with Week 14 in the NFL now in the books reveals a much higher opinion of the Chiefs now that they’ve won three in a row, especially given the strong defensive performance we’ve seen from them against the Chargers, Raiders and now Patriots in a row.

Bleacher Report has been high on the Chiefs all along and even placed them at No. 5 before the game against New England. On the other side, the Chiefs are now No. 3 overall. Their NFL staff writes:

"The Baltimore Ravens look like the class of the AFC right now. That’s not in question. What is in question is who slots at No. 2 behind them. The Chiefs just made a pretty compelling case."

Over at ESPN, the Chiefs rose two spots from No. 6 to No. 4, behind the Ravens, 49ers and Saints. It’s clear that the Chiefs are now being seen as the AFC’s second best hope for a Super Bowl contender after their dismantling of the Patriots. At Yahoo! Sports, the Chiefs made the same leap up two spots—above the Patriots and Green Bay Packers.

The Seattle Seahawks crept in front of the Chiefs on Dan Hanzus’s column over at NFL.com, where the Chiefs are No. 5 after sitting at No. 8 last week. They’re still No. 2 among AFC contenders. Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free-Press has the Chiefs still sitting outside of the top 5 including 4 NFC contenders (or hopeful contenders).

NBC Sports is one of the most generous of any media outlet, giving the Chiefs a No 3 overall vote just behind the Niners and Ravens. Meanwhile Nate Davis at USA Today finally put the Chiefs in his top five after ranking them 8th last week. At Sports Illustrated, a panel of voters helped the Chiefs tie with the Saints for third overall.

If the Chiefs can roll over the Broncos in Week 15, it will simply be a waiting game to see whether or not Baltimore will stumble down the stretch. If not, the Chiefs might remain out of luck for a first round bye.