The Kansas City Chiefs are the eighth best team in the NFL according to Peter King’s offseason NFL power rankings. King posted his rankings for teams 1-16 here and 17-32 here. The Chiefs show up in that first link and are ranked eighth, which is six spots behind the Oakland Raiders, who are No. 2.
I hate to say it but I understand the Oakland love. They have all the pieces of being a really, really good team in 2017. Maybe better than they were last year. Derek Carr is going to get better, the offensive line is among the best, they have decent receivers, Khalil Mack is a beast and Marshawn Lynch isn’t the same player he was but he does have some sort of energy he brings to his teams. I’m concerned about them. They still gotta beat the Chiefs but I’m concerned.
The Chiefs being eighth is also fair. They didn’t really get better or worse this offseason. They’re mostly the same 12-win team from last year. Despite what people tell you, that isn’t a bad thing. Outside of quarterback there was nothing the Chiefs could’ve done to drastically change their fortunes in 2017. They have the quarterback for after 2017 but Alex Smith remains their best bet to go to the playoffs and take another shot this year. This is basically a contract year for the most important player on the team. I’m fascinated to see what we get.
While we’re here, a couple fun stats from MNChiefsfan:
It was been 915 days since the Chiefs lost to the Raiders. It has been 891 days since Derek Carr threw more TDs than INTs against the Chiefs https://t.co/pjyixoSfsc
— Seth Keysor (@RealMNchiefsfan) May 23, 2017
The Chiefs have outscored the Raiders by an average of 11 points per game over the last 2 years.
— Seth Keysor (@RealMNchiefsfan) May 23, 2017