NFL Power Rankings: KC Chiefs tumble before Week 4

When the K.C. Chiefs lost their first game of the season to the Baltimore Ravens, it was treated as an anomaly by most voters in the following NFL Power Rankings. After all, the Chiefs had the Ravens on the ropes in the fourth quarter in what looked like an easy comeback before Clyde Edwards-Helaire’s fumble. Therefore, most voters kept the Chiefs right about where they were the previous week.

After another loss, however, the cracks are starting to show in voters’ belief in the Chiefs. As another season is well underway, other teams are more exciting right now—seriously, the L.A. Rams are red hot—and the Chiefs have now lost two of their first three games. Not only are they in the basement of the AFC West, but they’re falling down another round of power rankings before Week 4.

The Chiefs hosted the L.A. Chargers in Week 3 with the hopes of turning things around and starting the divisional run off on the right foot. Instead, the day ended with Andy Reid in the hospital and a demoralizing loss at Arrowhead. Now at 1-2, it’s not a shock to see the Chiefs losing ground with NFL analysts.

The K.C. Chiefs have taken another tumble in NFL Power Rankings after losing two of their first three games.

Over at the National Football League’s official site, Dan Hanzus turns in the weekly power rankings and he’s got the Chiefs falling from No. 2 overall to No. 6. He writes:

"Kansas City will turn the calendar to October in last place in the AFC West — with three extremely frisky teams ahead of them in the standings."

He’s correct that the West this year could make things a lot more interesting (read: difficult) for the Chiefs in 2021. The Denver Broncos are unbeaten so far to top the division, but they’re tied with the Las Vegas Raiders who have also put away every opponent in September. As for the Chargers, they just upset the Chiefs at home and are a penalty against the Dallas Cowboys away from being 3-0 themselves.

Over at ESPN, the fall is even more pronounced as the Chiefs have moved from No. 3 overall to No. 10, a sight that no one would have expected to see before the regular season began. In fact they are behind numerous AFC teams including two from their own division: the Buffalo Bills, Raiders, Cleveland Browns, Baltimore Ravens, and Chargers. Yeah, it’s going to be a crowded field this year.

Danny Kelly at The Ringer has the same idea with the Chiefs at No. 10, although he’s been grouping teams in overall tiers to show their level of competitiveness. He has the Chiefs noted as Contenders and groups together with the likes of the Packers and Titans, who make up the bookends of that range from No. 7 to No. 16.

Frank Schwab of Yahoo! Sports is a smidge more positive about the Chiefs at No. 9 overall in his weekly power rankings as he writes, “They just might not be the big favorite we thought they were. Still, dropping them too far in these rankings would look foolish in about a month.” Vinnie Iyer of the Sporting News echoes the same, even though he has the Chiefs at No. 10, when he says the Chiefs will be “fine long-term.”

In these instances, it’s clear some voters believe that the Chiefs will turn things around and still be the sort of Super Bowl threat that they came into the season hoping to be. For now, however a voter cannot keep putting a team at the top of the power rankings when the franchise itself keeps losing early.