What's up with everyone coming out with rankings these past few weeks? Here are a few places the Chiefs have been ranked by various media outlets.
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The Sporting News ranked the top 20 players at each position
- The Toronto News ranked the best North American sports cities
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ESPN unveiled their power rankings
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Madden '10 came out with their player ratings
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FOX Sports ranked the NFL's best organizations
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CBS Sports ranked the top players at four key positions
- The Sporting News ranked the top 20 offensive and defensive coordinators
Today, Sports Illustrated has ranked the team of the decade. The list may be a bit premature since we're not out of this decade yet. Don Banks recognizes this when talking about the Patriots or Steelers as the No. 1 team of the decade. Currently he has the Patriots No. 1 but a Steeler Super Bowl victory in '09 could change that.
The Chiefs ended up at 25th. Here's how he broke them down.
With the exception of those hazy, crazy, high-scoring days of 2003, when Kansas City produced and surrendered points in almost equal measure, the entire decade was something of a downer for the Chiefs. But they did give us one of the more entertaining playoff games in history, that no-punt, point-a-minute 38-31 Colts win at Arrowhead in 2003.
And with decade-long statistics like this, how can you blame him for the 25th spot?
Regular Season | 66-78, .458 |
Playoff Wins/Record | 0-2 |
Super Bowl Appearances/Wins | 0 |
Playoff Seasons | 2 |
Winning Seasons | 3 |
Losing Seasons | 5 |
I counted six other teams that haven't won a playoff game in the same span. Also, there were four teams with just two playoff seasons, three with just one and three more with zero. Of course, we're in the company of Detroit, Houston, Cincinnati, Cleveland and the like. Throw Arizona in there as well since they've been miserable up until last season's Super Bowl run.
Here's how the AFC West broke down:
Denver Broncos | 8th |
San Diego Chargers | 12th |
Oakland Raiders | 24th |
Kansas City Chiefs | 25th |
We know the Raiders have set records of futility since their 2002 Super Bowl loss to the Tampa Bay Bucs. But over the long haul, they actually have been better than the Chiefs, mainly because of playoff victories. The Raiders have three playoff seasons and four playoff victories since 2000.
Worst in the west. It won't be too difficult to place better next decade.