NFL power rankings, Week 9: KC Chiefs hold steady after bye week

NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - OCTOBER 24: Derrick Henry #22 of the Tennessee Titans gets set during to an NFL game against the Kansas City Chiefs at Nissan Stadium on October 24, 2021 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images)
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - OCTOBER 24: Derrick Henry #22 of the Tennessee Titans gets set during to an NFL game against the Kansas City Chiefs at Nissan Stadium on October 24, 2021 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images)

With the Kansas City Chiefs coming off their bye week their position in the Power Rankings remains the same as they take on the Tennessee Titans.

Did you survive the bye week? It’s the one week of the season without Kansas City Chiefs football, and it can be a bummer. I myself had a bit of the bye-week blues, but I managed to make it through.

Mostly I was able to survive thanks to a new wide receiver acquisition and the tears of Raiders fans. Besides the Broncos’ win, it was an overall good football weekend.

The Chiefs come out of their bye week facing a much easier schedule than they had in the first half of the season. It starts this Sunday night against the Tennessee Titans (side note, but does anyone else think this game should’ve been flexed?)

Assuming the Chiefs just don’t let another egg against the Titans like they did last year, they should be coasting to a 6-2 record. This means they’ll probably still be #3 in the Power Rankings next week like they are this week. Until the Bills and Eagles lose, the top 3 teams probably aren’t going to be changing for a while.

Charles Robinson over at Yahoo! Sports had mixed reviews about the trade for Kadarius Toney. “He could be a real difference-maker late in the season. He could also do some more quiet quitting, and nobody should be surprised by that either,” said Robinson.

Similarly, Dan Hanzus at NFL.com had a lot to say about the Toney trade when he ranked the Chiefs at #3 behind the Eagles (#2) and Bills (#1).

"It’s telling how a new Giants regime found a recent first-round pick like Toney so instantly expendable, but it’s also understandable why Kansas City decided to roll the dice. Toney’s talent could translate beautifully in an offense run by Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes."

Both PFT and CBS also had the Chiefs at 3, with CBS noting that the Chiefs’ run game had better be ready to handle Derrick Henry. Steven Spagnuolo has gotten a lot of chances to do this over the last couple of seasons and I think he’ll have his defense ready to slow down the history-making running back.

Speaking of backs running, how about watching our favorite Chiefs quarterback make the best run of his life against the Titans:

Schedule