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The Chiefs made big strides in the Week 2 Pundit Power Rankings — but before we get to that, a quick note about last week.
As you may recall, the MMQB Power Rankings weren’t yet available when we published the pundit rankings last Tuesday. We expected them to favor the Chiefs a bit more than some of the others since we knew that two MMQB writers had predicted the Chiefs will win the Super Bowl this season.
Well... we were right. And wrong.
When it came out on Wednesday, the MMQB poll ranked the Chiefs at number 12 going into Week 1 — which was indeed a bit higher than most other pundit polls.
But here’s where it gets interesting: the MMQB poll listed the highest and lowest rankings submitted for each team, which revealed that the Chiefs received no first-place votes.
Did Robert Klemko and Mitch Goldich — the two writers who picked the Chiefs to win the Super Bowl — decide to opt for an edgy pick in the season preview but dial that back when they made their secret votes in the poll? Or do they think the Chiefs won’t be the best NFL team at the end of the season but will win the Super Bowl anyway?
It’s hard to say. But we thought it was interesting.
So here’s the Week 2 roundup and aggregation of our selected Pundit Power Rankings.
Across the board, the Chiefs rose five spots from last week, landing in seventh place. That’s tops in the AFC West, and second only to the Jacksonville Jaguars and New England Patriots in the AFC.
Pundit Power Rankings for Week 2
| Rank | Team | ESPN | MMQB | NFL | SBN | SpNws | Yahoo | CBS |
|
1 (2) |
Patriots 1-0 |
2 (2) |
1 (1) |
4 (5) |
2 (3) |
3 (4) |
3 (3) |
3 (3) |
|
2 (1) |
Eagles 1-0 |
1 (1) |
2 (2) |
1 (1) |
3 (1) |
4 (5) |
4 (4) |
4 (5) |
|
3 (3) |
Vikings 1-0 |
3 (6) |
4 (3) |
3 (4) |
1 (2) |
1 (2) |
1 (1) |
5 (6) |
|
4 (4) |
Rams 1-0 |
4 (4) |
5 (5) |
2 (2) |
6 (4) |
2 (3) |
2 (2) |
6 (9) |
|
5 (6) |
Packers 1-0 |
7 (8) |
3 (4) |
6 (9) |
4 (7) |
6 (8) |
6 (7) |
1 (1) |
|
6 (8) |
Jaguars 1-0 |
5 (12) |
6 (7) |
5 (6) |
5 (5) |
5 (7) |
5 (6) |
2 (2) |
|
7 (12) |
Chiefs 1-0 |
6 (14) |
7 (12) |
11 (17) |
7 (14) |
8 (16) |
7 (12) |
8 (17) |
|
8 (7) |
Steelers 0-0-1 |
8 (3) |
9 (9) |
10 (7) |
10 (6) |
12 (9) |
8 (8) |
9 (8) |
| Rank | Team | ESPN | MMQB | NFL | SpNews | SBN | Yahoo | CBS |
|
9 (11) |
Panthers 1-0 |
11 (11) |
10 (11) |
8 (11) |
9 (11) |
7 (12) |
9 (11) |
10 (13) |
|
10 (9) |
Falcons 0-1 |
10 (7) |
8 (8) |
7 (8) |
15 (9) |
13 (10) |
11 (10) |
11 (4) |
|
11 (5) |
Saints 0-1 |
9 (5) |
13 (6) |
12 (3) |
11 (8) |
10 (1) |
13 (5) |
13 (7) |
|
12 (15) |
Ravens 1-0 |
12 (10) |
16 (22) |
9 (16) |
8 (17) |
9 (21) |
12 (13) |
12 (15) |
|
13 (10) |
Chargers 0-1 |
13 (9) |
12 (10) |
14 (10) |
13 (10) |
11 (6) |
10 (9) |
16 (10) |
|
14 (22) |
Broncos 1-0 |
16 (26) |
20 (27) |
18 (20) |
12 (21) |
14 (22) |
14 (18) |
7 (12) |
|
15 (13) |
Texans 0-1 |
15 (16) |
14 (14) |
13 (12) |
21 (16) |
25 (14) |
15 (15) |
18 (11) |
|
16 (25) |
Redskins 1-0 |
14 (22) |
18 (26) |
17 (26) |
16 (25) |
19 (30) |
20 (23) |
15 (23) |
| Rank | Team | ESPN | MMQB | NFL | SBN | SpNews | Yahoo | CBS |
|
17 (14) |
49ers 0-1 |
18 (15) |
11 (13) |
22 (19) |
18 (12) |
17 (11) |
17 (16) |
23 (22) |
|
18 (30) |
Buccaneers 1-0 |
19 (28) |
15 (30) |
19 (28) |
19 (29) |
18 (32) |
22 (27) |
19 (26) |
|
19 (23) |
Bengals 1-0 |
23 (25) |
23 (25) |
21 (21) |
14 (19) |
15 (27) |
19 (22) |
14 (14) |
|
20 (19) |
Bears 0-1 |
21 (21) |
21 (19) |
16 (15) |
17 (13) |
23 (19) |
18 (20) |
25 (24) |
|
21 (27) |
Dolphins 1-0 |
24 (29) |
19 (21) |
23 (23) |
22 (31) |
20 (31) |
25 (26) |
17 (21) |
|
22 (29) |
Jets 1-0 |
26 (31) |
17 (24) |
20 (29) |
20 (27) |
29 (26) |
23 (29) |
24 (31) |
|
23 (21) |
Seahawks 0-1 |
17 (18) |
24 (18) |
28 (27) |
26 (24) |
22 (18) |
21 (21) |
26 (25) |
|
24 (17) |
Cowboys 0-1 |
20 (13) |
25 (17) |
25 (22) |
28 (22) |
26 (15) |
16 (14) |
22 (20) |
| Rank | Team | ESPN | MMQB | NFL | SBN | SpNews | Yahoo | CBS |
|
25 (20) |
Giants 0-1 |
25 (24) |
22 (16) |
15 (14) |
24 (18) |
27 (17) |
24 (24) |
28 (28) |
|
26 (16) |
Titans 0-1 |
22 (17) |
28 (19) |
24 (13) |
30 (15) |
24 (13) |
26 (17) |
20 (16) |
|
27 (18) |
Lions 0-1 |
27 (19) |
26 (15) |
26 (18) |
29 (20) |
16 (20) |
28 (19) |
29 (19) |
|
28 (26) |
Raiders 0-1 |
28 (23) |
29 (29) |
27 (24) |
23 (30) |
30 (23) |
27 (25) |
21 (18) |
|
29 (24) |
Colts 0-1 |
29 (20) |
27 (23) |
30 (32) |
25 (23) |
28 (24) |
29 (30) |
31 (30) |
|
30 (31) |
Browns 0-0-1 |
30 (30) |
30 (30) |
29 (30) |
27 (28) |
21 (25) |
31 (32) |
30 (29) |
|
31 (28) |
Cardinals 0-1 |
31 (27) |
31 (28) |
31 (25) |
31 (26) |
31 (28) |
30 (28) |
27 (27) |
|
32 (32) |
Bills 0-1 |
32 (32) |
32 (32) |
32 (31) |
32 (32) |
32 (29) |
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 |
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Note: When the MMQB rankings were added into the calculations after last week’s publication, the Chiefs went from number 14 to number 12 in last week’s rankings.
Among the pundits, CBS Sports’ Pete Prisco was the most impressed by the Chiefs win in Los Angeles, bumping them up nine spots in his rankings. The MMQB writers and Yahoo’s Frank Schwab gave the least credit — but then again, both had rated the Chiefs higher than most others going into Week 1. So we end up with a general consensus among the pundits that the Chiefs deserve to be in the top 10 — and the Chargers do not.
Here's what the pundits had to say about the Kansas City Chiefs this week:
ESPN (6th from 14th)
Sammy Watkins recorded three catches for 21 yards in his Chiefs debut and largely played in the shadow of Tyreek Hill, who had an all-time great game. Watkins’ second catch was a 16-yard reception in the third quarter, instrumental in setting up the Chiefs’ touchdown two plays later.
NFL.com (Elliot Harrison - 11th from 17th)
Sunday moment: The Chiefs, up two scores on the Chargers late in the third quarter, are driving ... Kansas City has Tyreek Hill (who already had gone off multiple times), Sammy Watkins, Travis Kelce and Kareem Hunt at its disposal. So Patrick Mahomes goes where? How about Anthony Sherman, running a fullback wheel route to perfection, with a perfectly laid-in ball that puts the Chiefs up by 19 points. What a throw from Mahomes on what evolved into a banner day. Oh, yeah, Eric Berry didn’t play. It really mattered.
SBNation (Rebecca Toback - 7th from 14th)
Patrick Mahomes looked like the real deal in Kansas City’s 38-28 win over the Chargers. Mahomes was 15 of 27 for 256 passing yards, four touchdowns, zero interceptions, and a 127.5 passer rating.
Sporting News (Vinnie Iyer - 8th from 16th)
Patrick Mahomes and Tyreek Hill brought it home with monster plays, but the Chiefs need more balance and offensive diversity to make up for the fact that their defense will keep getting shredded.
Yahoo! Sports (Frank Schwab - 7th from 12th)
Think about this: Sammy Watkins, Kareem Hunt and Travis Kelce did practically nothing and the Chiefs put up 38 points on a good (I think?) Chargers defense. Let’s get crazy and predict that Watkins, Hunt and Kelce will be just fine this season.
CBS Sports (Pete Prisco - 8th from 17th)
That was an impressive showing in Los Angeles against the Chargers. Patrick Mahomes is the real deal, but faces a tough road game at Pittsburgh.
So now the Chiefs head to Pittsburgh to face the Steelers on Sunday. What will the pundits say if the Chiefs beat the Steelers? What will they say if they lose? We’ll lay it all out for you next Tuesday.
And remember... starting next Wednesday on Arrowhead Pride, we’ll start combining what the pundits say with what the number-crunchers say — to give you True Power Rankings!