This week’s 2017 NFL power rankings are out and the Kansas City Chiefs are mostly out of the top 10. We counted a few media outlets that kept them around the top 10 but most have dropped them. The Chiefs are as low as 14 in some rankings and I can’t blame anyone for ranking them so low. The Chiefs performance last Sunday was awful and they’ve lost four out of five so really they’re playing like one of the worst teams in the league right now. The good news is they started off so hot they still have a cushion in the AFC West but that will quickly disappear if they continue playing poorly.
This week’s power rankings roundup below:
Poll
Should the Chiefs be ranked in the top 10?
Yikes. Losing to the Giants is pretty bad. Andy Reid’s team has now lost four out of their last five games. When will he finally make the call to bench Alex Smith and go to Patrick Mahomes?
Toss-up: At one point it looked like a triumphant season for the Chiefs, who opened the year with a 5-0 start. After losing four of their last five games, it has turned into a toss-up. Kansas City still has a 96 percent chance to make the playoffs, according to FPI, but this recent downfall can't generate much optimism.
The Chiefs are lucky the AFC West has been far worse than anyone expected. I still think there’s a good team here, but it’s a lot harder to take that stance after they’ve just lost to a Giants team that looked like it didn’t want to play football anymore this season.
Kansas City has too much firepower to be putting up nine points against the Giants. Starting Mahomes could change the narrative surrounding the Chiefs offense moving forward. He has arm talent that allows him to make throws that Smith isn't willing to throw and isn't physically capable of thinking about attempting.
The Chiefs are good enough to win the surprisingly feeble AFC West but simply aren’t good enough to challenge the Patriots or Steelers for AFC supremacy. Their 1-4 downward spiral since the 5-0 start has made that clear. If this continues, would the Chiefs ever consider a late-season switch from Alex Smith — who certainly did not resemble an MVP candidate Sunday — to QB-of-the-future Patrick Mahomes?
Is Andy Reid's team in free fall? Kansas City has lost four of its last five after starting 5-0. Alex Smith was putrid in a 12-9 overtime loss to woeful Giants. Thankfully, the horrific Bills come to Arrowhead after the holiday.
The NFL has its mediocre parity.
It seems like years ago the Chiefs rolled the Patriots in Gillette Stadium. After losing to the lowly New York Giants on Sunday, Kansas City now has lost four its last five games. Luckily for the Chiefs, the Buffalo Bills comes to town in Week 12 and there’s no telling who Sean McDermott will start at quarterback.