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In Week 5 — after a big divisional win against the Denver Broncos — the Kansas City Chiefs held firm in the eyes of national writers, who unanimously picked the Los Angeles Rams and the Chiefs at 1-2 this week. Right behind the Chiefs are the Jacksonville Jaguars, who travel to Arrowhead Stadium to face the Chiefs this Sunday.
Pundit Power Rankings for Week 5
Chiefs AFC West Teams Other AFC Teams
| Rank | Team | ESPN | MMQB | NFL | SBN | SpNws | Yahoo | CBS | USA |
|
1 (1) |
Rams 4-0 | 1 (1) | 1 (2) | 1 (1) | 1 (1) | 1 (1) | 1 (1) | 1 (1) | 1 (1) |
|
2 (2) |
Chiefs 4-0 | 2 (2) | 2 (1) | 2 (2) | 2 (2) | 2 (2) | 2 (2) | 2 (2) | 2 (2) |
|
3 (4) |
Jaguars 3-1 | 3 (4) | 4 (5) | 3 (4) | 3 (3) | 4 (7) | 3 (4) | 4 (6) | 4 (8) |
|
4 (5) |
Saints 3-1 | 4 (5) | 3 (4) | 4 (6) | 4 (7) | 3 (3) | 10 (12) | 6 (8) | 3 (3) |
|
5 (12) |
Patriots 2-2 | 5 (6) | 5 (11) | 6 (13) | 8 (12) | 7 (11) | 5 (6) | 11 (18) | 5 (24) |
|
6 (6) |
Panthers 2-1 | 11 (11) | 7 (7) | 5 (5) | 5 (10) | 8 (4) | 6 (5) | 8 (9) | 7 (7) |
|
7 (15) |
Ravens 3-1 | 7 (15) | 9 (15) | 10 (16) | 7 (15) | 6 (9) | 8 (10) | 10 (12) | 9 (13) |
|
8 (14) |
Bengals 3-1 | 8 (14) | 11 (14) | 7 (15) | 6 (13) | 5 (8) | 12 (14) | 9 (11) | 8 (12) |
| Rank | Team | ESPN | MMQB | NFL | SBN | SpNws | Yahoo | CBS | USA |
|
9 (3) |
Eagles 2-2 | 6 (3) | 8 (3) | 12 (3) | 9 (4) | 10 (5) | 4 (3) | 13 (3) | 13 (4) |
|
10 (10) |
Packers 2-1-1 | 9 (10) | 6 (10) | 9 (12) | 10 (11) | 9 (13) | 7 (7) | 14 (14) | 11 (17) |
|
11 (18) |
Bears 3-1 | 10 (18) | 12 (19) | 8 (17) | 11 (14) | 11 (16) | 9 (17) | 5 (16) | 14 (18) |
|
12 (20) |
Titans 3-1 | 12 (20) | 16 (20) | 11 (19) | 14 (18) | 12 (21) | 14 (20) | 3 (5) | 12 (20) |
|
13 (8) |
Vikings 1-2-1 | 13 (9) | 10 (6) | 13 (9) | 12 (6) | 13 (12) | 13 (8) | 20 (15) | 17 (19) |
|
14 (16) |
Chargers 2-2 | 16 (16) | 14 (13) | 14 (11) | 20 (20) | 17 (18) | 11 (11) | 17 (21) | 6 (11) |
|
15 (17) |
Redskins 2-1 | 19 (19) | 17 (16) | 15 (18) | 17 (17) | 14 (17) | 15 (18) | 7 (7) | 10 (16) |
|
16 (7) |
Dolphins 3-1 | 14 (8) | 18 (9) | 17 (10) | 13 (5) | 16 (6) | 16 (9) | 12 (4) | 18 (9) |
| Rank | Team | ESPN | MMQB | NFL | SBN | SpNws | Yahoo | CBS | USA |
|
17 (9) |
Steelers 1-2-1 | 15 (7) | 15 (12) | 16 (7) | 19 (16) | 19 (14) | 17 (15) | 19 (10) | 16 (10) |
|
18 (11) |
Falcons 1-3 | 17 (12) | 13 (8) | 18 (14) | 15 (8) | 18 (10) | 22 (19) | 23 (19) | 15 (6) |
|
19 (19) |
Broncos 2-2 | 18 (17) | 21 (18) | 20 (22) | 16 (19) | 15 (20) | 19 (13) | 15 (20) | 20 (21) |
|
20 (25) |
Cowboys 2-2 | 21 (22) | 19 (25) | 22 (24) | 24 (29) | 21 (24) | 21 (23) | 16 (23) | 22 (27) |
|
21 (13) |
Buccaneers 2-2 | 20 (13) | 24 (17) | 19 (8) | 18 (9) | 22 (15) | 18 (16) | 21 (13) | 19 (5) |
|
22 (21) |
Seahawks 2-2 | 22 (21) | 22 (21) | 21 (23) | 21 (24) | 20 (22) | 20 (22) | 18 (22) | 21 (25) |
|
23 (23) |
Lions 1-3 | 25 (25) | 20 (22) | 24 (21) | 27 (23) | 25 (26) | 24 (25) | 22 (17) | 23 (23) |
|
24 (22) |
Browns 1-2-1 | 23 (23) | 26 (24) | 23 (20) | 23 (22) | 23 (19) | 27 (26) | 28 (26) | 24 (14) |
| Rank | Team | ESPN | MMQB | NFL | SBN | SpNws | Yahoo | CBS | USA |
|
25 (24) |
Colts 1-3 | 24 (24) | 29 (28) | 27 (26) | 22 (21) | 26 (25) | 23 (21) | 26 (25) | 28 (15) |
|
25 (30) |
Texans 1-3 | 26 (29) | 23 (30) | 26 (28) | 29 (31) | 31 (30) | 25 (29) | 25 (32) | 26 (30) |
|
27 (26) |
Giants 1-3 | 28 (28) | 25 (23) | 25 (25) | 28 (27) | 27 (28) | 26 (24) | 24 (24) | 25 (29) |
|
28 (28) |
49ers 1-3 | 27 (26) | 27 (28) | 29 (31) | 25 (25) | 24 (23) | 31 (31) | 31 (29) | 30 (31) |
|
29 (27) |
Jets 1-3 | 29 (27) | 28 (25) | 30 (29) | 26 (26) | 28 (27) | 29 (27) | 30 (28) | 29 (22) |
|
30 (31) |
Raiders 1-3 | 30 (31) | 31 (31) | 28 (30) | 30 (30) | 30 (31) | 28 (30) | 27 (30) | 27 (28) |
|
31 (29) |
Bills 1-3 | 31 (30) | 30 (27) | 32 (27) | 31 (28) | 29 (29) | 30 (28) | 29 (27) | 31 (26) |
|
32 (32) |
Cardinals 0-4 | 32 (32) | 32 (32) | 31 (32) | 32 (32) | 32 (32) | 32 (32) | 32 (31) | 32 (32) |
| Numbers in parentheses are the previous week's ranking. The left-hand column is the aggregate of all rankings. ESPN and MMQB rankings are weighted 2.5 times all others. Other questions? Read the True Power Rankings Introduction | |||||||||
Here's what the pundits we're tracking said about the Chiefs this week:
ESPN (2nd from 2nd)
Rookie snaps leader: Derrick Nnadi, 62 snaps out of 270 (three games, 23 percent). The Chiefs have relied less on contributions from rookies than any other team. Nnadi is tied with LB Breeland Speaks for most tackles (four) by a Chiefs rookie defender (Yes, ESPN watched Monday night's game. It's just that this week's ESPN power rankings highlighted the rookies with the most snaps on each team)
MMQB (2nd from 1st)
The Chiefs did enough to stay perfect, but our panel dropped them a spot after a Monday night road win over a division rival. Tough crowd.
NFL.com (Elliot Harrison - 2nd from 2nd)
Superlatives are thrown around far too often in the NFL, especially with quarterbacks, but how can anyone not be amazed at Patrick Mahomes' performance Monday night? This wasn't a Tecmo Super Bowl outing, where Mahomes and friends posted crazy numbers. Nope, instead this was a hard-fought AFC West showdown, with the Broncos' defense being the first unit to get its second viewing of the league's newest phenom. Perhaps something of a second helping early on, until Mahomes showcased his unbelievable pocket awareness and ability to launch on the run, from any angle. Credit the K.C. defense, which engineered a few clutch plays of its own. Allen Bailey railroaded Case Keenum's third-and-10 scamper to the edge on Denver's second-to-last drive. Wow.
SBNation (Rebecca Toback - 2nd from 2nd)
The Chiefs closed out the week against the Broncos with a thriller as well; Kansas City held off the Broncos and came away with a Monday Night Football win to stay undefeated. The Rams and Chiefs are the only two undefeated teams remaining, keeping them in the same position as last week (1 and 2 respectively) in our power rankings.
Sporting News (Vinnie Iyer - 2nd from 2nd)
Patrick Mahomes is bound to cool off a little, or so we think. Wouldn't it be super nice if we got a little more out of the Chiefs’ defense soon?
Yahoo! Sports (Frank Schwab - 2nd from 2nd)
Patrick Mahomes looks like he’s going to be the face of the NFL for the next decade. I’m not sure what else can be said about him. Watching him next week against the Jaguars’ great defense is going to be phenomenal.
CBS Sports (Pete Prisco - 2nd from 2nd)
Patrick Mahomes is playing at such a high level already. Now comes his toughest test against the No. 1-ranked Jaguars defense.
USA Today (Nate Davis - 2nd from 2nd)
The KC BBQ wasn’t quite as spicy Monday with Patrick Mahomes throwing just one TD, but can’t argue with second straight 4-0 start.
Other power rankings we noticed this week:
Bleeding Green Nation (Brandon Lee Gowton - 1st from 1st) Pat Mahomes is the TRUTH and Andy Reid is such a good coach ... in the regular season, at least.
Bleacher Report (2nd from 2nd) Through their first three games of the 2018 season, the Kansas City Chiefs had yet to be tested. Patrick Mahomes and an explosive Kansas City offense had been boat-racing hapless defenses. Monday night in Denver, the Chiefs got that test—and passed it with flying colors. Facing a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter, Mahomes didn’t look the part of a second-year pro. He coolly made play after play, guiding the Chiefs on a pair of touchdown drives that earned KC its fourth win in as many tries.
Washington Post (Mark Maske - 2nd from 2nd) Nothing was easy for Mahomes and the Chiefs on Monday night in Denver. That made what the second-year QB accomplished in pulling out the comeback victory all the more impressive.
NESN (Logan Mullen - 2nd from 2nd) This Chiefs’ offense is absolutely electric. Despite a slow first half, Patrick Mahomes kicked KC into gear down the stretch to keep his team undefeated.
Mile High Report (Pete Baron - 2nd from 2nd) Not so tough outside of September, are you? But in all honesty, divisional games on the road are coin flips. They still escaped with a W, but it was a hell of a lot tougher than anyone thought it would be.
The Baltimore Ravens and Tennessee Titans moved up the most in out aggregate rankings, each climbing eight positions after improving their records to 3-1. The Ravens beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 26-14 at Heinz Field, while the Titans edged the Philadelphia Eagles 26-23 at home.
The writers also gave the Chicago Bears and the New England Patriots big gains, with each team rising seven slots.
The Patriots were also the focus of the largest disagreement among the writers. All thought the Patriots should go up, but only one — USA Today’s Nate Davis — gave them a boost of more than seven positions. It seems Davis had previously given up on the Patriots, but has since thought better of it, moving them from 24th to fifth in his Week 5 rankings.
The Miami Dolphins were the biggest loser of the week, dropping nine positions to the middle of the pack, with the Steelers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Atlanta Falcons close behind them.
Check back with us on Wednesday, when we combine the views of the pundits with hard data from the number-crunchers to calculate Week 5’s True Power Rankings!