NFL Power Rankings, Week 8: Chiefs still sit outside top 10 on most lists

The Kansas City Chiefs won their fourth game of the season on Monday Night Football, but no one should be convinced they’re any closer to becoming the Super Bowl contender they were expected to be. Even after beating the New York Giants in Week 8, it turns out that everyone is still on the fence about K.C.

The Chiefs won a close 20-17 game on Monday night at Arrowhead, one in which the same mistakes that have plagued them all season were present again with 12 penalties for 103 yards and multiple turnovers for the sixth game this season (out of only 8). Patrick Mahomes made some odd mistakes, and the defense allowed some opportune big plays that allowed the Giants to stay in it.

Thus, even at 4-4 and after winning a game, the latest round of NFL Power Rankings still has the Chiefs sitting on the outside looking in when it comes to the top ten and even a few slots down from there.

The latest NFL Power Rankings have the Chiefs sitting outside the top 10.

Here at FanSided, Randy Gurzi has the Chiefs at No. 15 overall, which is about as far down the rankings as we’ve seen the team this season. That’s not to say the placement is wrong. Rather it just means that most voters or writers have the Chiefs higher on their lists, even by a slot or two, likely out of some preseason allegiance to having the Chiefs listed as Super Bowl favorites or contenders.

Brandon Lee Gowton of SB Nation perhaps sums it all up best when he writes, “The Chiefs sure don’t look like The Chiefs this season.” He keeps them at No. 13 after a Giants victory because a victory over New York shouldn’t move the meter.

Over at the Pro Football Network, the Chiefs are sitting fairly at No. 13 overall but it’s grabbed their attention that this team has looked rather dramatic in the past week with online comments between players and fans getting out of hand. It’s also unsettling that Mahomes has looked off his game this season. However, Dalton Miller admits, “He still flashed some of the incredible playmaking ability he’s known for, but it was the Chiefs’ defense that won them the game.”

Justin Leger at NBC Sports agrees with the placement of the Chiefs at No. 13 which leaves them outside the top 10 here, too, but it’s hard to put them over the teams above them who have proven to be more successful in the AFC. Ryan Dunleavy echoes the same from the New York Post, moving the Chiefs up a single tick from 14 to 13 this week.

Vinnie Iyer of The Sporting News has the Chiefs one slot lower in his weekly rankings at No. 14 overall. The important thing for the Chiefs, says Iyer, is that it was a bad week overall for most of the AFC which means their win, even one so ugly, was opportune.