NFL power rankings, Week 15: KC Chiefs remain in top 5

After a close win against the Denver Broncos, the Kansas City Chiefs find themselves in a strange position in NFL power rankings. Should they be top five?

It’s getting harder and harder to defend the Kansas City Chiefs and their placement on the various lists of NFL power rankings every week. I want them to be the top team, but the No. 1 team doesn’t (almost) blow a 27-0 lead to one of the worst teams in the league, as they did on Sunday against the Denver Broncos.

Almost losing to bottom feeders is what teams like the Dallas Cowboys do. Speaking of which, before the Denver game, I told the Arrowhead Addict writers that the Houston Texans game against Dallas was exactly why nobody should be underestimated. I was proven right. And those same Texans take on the Chiefs next week too. Get it together!

A lot of blame can be put on different parts of this Chiefs team for its near collapse against the donkeys. Surprisingly, none of that blame can be put on the special teams which was probably the most mistake-free unit on the field Sunday. Patrick Mahomes needs to loosen up, and the defense (which did play pretty well, all things considered) needs to tighten up.

And speaking of loosening up, the folks at Yahoo! Sports think that Mahomes should still be the MVP favorite as they rank the Chiefs as the fourth-best team this week. I agree with them, but it’s hard to deny that Jalen Hurts isn’t gaining ground in the race for Most Valuable Player.

I’m putting my temporary feud with Dan Hanzus at NFL.com aside for a week because I actually agree with him. He kept the Chiefs at five in his Power Rankings, and that’s about where I would put them too. I don’t think they are less than a top-five team.

ESPN probably has the Chiefs ranked the highest out of all the Power Rankings this week, at #2. That’s only behind the Philadelphia Eagles. Nonetheless, Adam Teicher still sees some serious holes on this Chiefs team that everyone should be concerned about, in particular their defense and special teams.

"Opponents still have a QBR against the Chiefs of 57, third highest in the league. Kansas City’s special teams are usually outstanding, but not this season: They’ve fumbled three punts, and their field goal rate of 77.8% is the fourth worst."

I would like to see Kansas City get a confidence-boosting, mop-the-floor win over the Houston Texans this week. It would mean that much more considering how the Texans almost beat the Dallas Cowboys this past weekend.