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The national pundits continue to push the Kansas City Chiefs higher in their weekly power rankings, almost unanimously ranking them second — and one ranking even put the Chiefs first! The Chiefs now hold the second spot in our aggregated power rankings — tops in the AFC, and well in front of the other AFC West teams.
Pundit Power Rankings for Week 4
Chiefs AFC West Teams Other AFC Teams
| Rank | Team | ESPN | MMQB | NFL | SBN | SpNews | Yahoo | CBS |
|
1 (1) |
Rams 3-0 | 1 (1) | 2 (2) | 1 (1) | 1 (2) | 1 (1) | 1 (1) | 1 (2) |
|
2 (3) |
Chiefs 3-0 | 2 (3) | 1 (3) | 2 (4) | 2 (3) | 2 (3) | 2 (4) | 2 (3) |
|
3 (7) |
Eagles 2-1 | 3 (5) | 3 (7) | 3 (8) | 4 (7) | 5 (7) | 3 (6) | 3 (10) |
|
4 (2) |
Jaguars 2-1 | 4 (2) | 5 (1) | 4 (2) | 3 (1) | 7 (2) | 4 (3) | 6 (1) |
|
5 (12) |
Saints 2-1 | 5 (9) | 4 (12) | 6 (12) | 7 (14) | 3 (10) | 12 (16) | 8 (15) |
|
6 (16) |
Dolphins 3-0 | 8 (16) | 9 (15) | 10 (17) | 5 (12) | 6 (20) | 9 (15) | 4 (12) |
|
7 (14) |
Panthers 2-1 | 11 (14) | 7 (13) | 5 (10) | 10 (16) | 4 (12) | 5 (13) | 9 (13) |
|
8 (4) |
Vikings 1-1-1 | 9 (6) | 6 (4) | 9 (3) | 6 (4) | 12 (4) | 8 (2) | 15 (5) |
| Rank | Team | ESPN | MMQB | NFL | SBN | SpNews | Yahoo | CBS |
|
9 (5) |
Patriots 1-2 | 6 (4) | 11 (5) | 13 (6) | 12 (6) | 11 (5) | 6 (5) | 18 (7) |
|
10 (6) |
Packers 1-1-1 | 10 (7) | 10 (6) | 12 (5) | 11 (5) | 13 (6) | 7 (7) | 14 (4) |
|
11 (15) |
Steelers 1-1-1 | 7 (10) | 12 (16) | 7 (16) | 16 (19) | 14 (16) | 15 (17) | 10 (17) |
|
12 (8) |
Falcons 1-2 | 12 (8) | 8 (8) | 14 (9) | 8 (10) | 10 (8) | 19 (10) | 19 (11) |
|
13 (10) |
Bengals 2-1 | 14 (13) | 14 (10) | 15 (13) | 13 (8) | 8 (11) | 14 (12) | 11 (8) |
|
14 (9) |
Buccaneers 2-1 | 13 (11) | 17 (9) | 8 (7) | 9 (9) | 15 (14) | 16 (11) | 13 (9) |
|
15 (17) |
Ravens 2-1 | 15 (19) | 15 (20) | 16 (15) | 15 (15) | 9 (13) | 10 (14) | 12 (14) |
|
16 (11) |
Chargers 1-2 | 16 (12) | 13 (11) | 11 (11) | 20 (13) | 18 (9) | 11 (8) | 21 (16) |
| Rank | Team | ESPN | MMQB | NFL | SBN | SpNews | Yahoo | CBS |
|
17 (23) |
Redskins 2-1 | 19 (21) | 16 (23) | 18 (24) | 17 (24) | 17 (25) | 18 (24) | 7 (19) |
|
18 (20) |
Bears 2-1 | 18 (23) | 19 (19) | 17 (14) | 14 (17) | 16 (18) | 17 (18) | 16 (24) |
|
19 (13) |
Broncos 2-1 | 17 (15) | 18 (13) | 22 (18) | 19 (11) | 20 (15) | 13 (9) | 20 (6) |
|
20 (21) |
Titans 2-1 | 20 (20) | 20 (22) | 19 (21) | 18 (21) | 21 (22) | 20 (22) | 5 (20) |
|
21 (24) |
Seahawks 1-2 | 21 (24) | 21 (21) | 23 (29) | 24 (25) | 22 (23) | 22 (26) | 22 (27) |
|
22 (30) |
Lions 1-2 | 25 (29) | 22 (27) | 21 (30) | 23 (28) | 26 (29) | 25 (29) | 17 (30) |
|
23 (28) |
Browns 1-1-1 | 23 (28) | 24 (30) | 20 (27) | 22 (27) | 19 (24) | 26 (30) | 26 (31) |
|
24 (18) |
Cowboys 1-2 | 22 (17) | 25 (17) | 24 (19) | 29 (22) | 24 (19) | 23 (19) | 23 (21) |
| Rank | Team | ESPN | MMQB | NFL | SBN | SpNews | Yahoo | CBS |
|
25 (22) |
Colts 1-2 | 24 (25) | 28 (25) | 26 (22) | 21 (18) | 25 (21) | 21 (21) | 25 (18) |
|
26 (29) |
Giants 1-2 | 28 (30) | 23 (28) | 25 (26) | 27 (29) | 28 (28) | 24 (28) | 24 (29) |
|
27 (25) |
Jets 1-2 | 27 (26) | 25 (24) | 29 (25) | 26 (23) | 27 (26) | 27 (25) | 28 (23) |
|
28 (19) |
49ers 1-2 | 26 (18) | 28 (18) | 31 (20) | 25 (20) | 23 (17) | 31 (20) | 29 (22) |
|
29 (32) |
Bills 1-2 | 30 (32) | 27 (32) | 27 (32) | 28 (32) | 29 (32) | 28 (32) | 27 (32) |
|
30 (26) |
Texans 0-3 | 29 (22) | 30 (26) | 28 (23) | 31 (30) | 30 (27) | 29 (23) | 32 (25) |
|
31 (27) |
Raiders 0-3 | 31 (27) | 31 (29) | 30 (28) | 30 (26) | 31 (30) | 30 (27) | 30 (26) |
|
32 (31) |
Cardinals 0-3 | 32 (31) | 32 (31) | 32 (31) | 32 (31) | 32 (31) | 32 (31) | 31 (28) |
| 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 had to say about the Chiefs this week:
ESPN (2nd from 3rd)
The Chiefs allow 474 total yards per game, most in the NFL and the most through three games in franchise history. Additionally, the only 3-0 team in the Super Bowl era to allow more points than the Chiefs (92) is the 2000 Rams (94).
NFL.com (Elliot Harrison - 2nd from 4th)
They say records were made to be broken, but this Patrick Mahomes pace reminds me of only one person and year: Dan Marino, 1984. Mahomes is already well ahead of Dan The Man's touchdown stride (Marino's then-record-setting 48 scoring tosses remain the most ever by a second-year player) at this point, although Marino's torrid pace down the back stretch will be tough to equal once opponents acquire more tape on the K.C. phenom. At issue for the surging Chiefs is the defense, which allowed another four bills on Sunday. Go get Earl.
SBNation (Rebecca Toback - 2nd from 3rd)
Patrick Mahomes continues to shine, Sammy Watkins is finally coming along in Kansas City, Justin Houston notched two sacks on Jimmy Garoppolo, and Tyreek Hill remains good for at least one jaw-dropping play on a weekly basis.
Sporting News (Vinnie Iyer - 2nd from 3rd)
Patrick Mahomes is still in a groove, but the running game and defense issues continues to linger. That doesn't matter much when the Chiefs are blowing teams out.
Yahoo! Sports (Frank Schwab - 2nd from 4th)
At this moment, if every NFL player became a free agent and every team had a full salary cap to use, who would command the highest contract? Keep in mind that age would be a factor. Is it possible the answer is Patrick Mahomes? It’s only a few starts, but it seems impossible to believe he’s not going to be a star for the next decade or more.
CBS Sports (Pete Prisco - 2nd from 3rd)
How long can the offense bail out a so-so defense? One good thing from Sunday was the pressure the front got against San Francisco.
This week, the pundits were almost unanimous about the first two teams, ranking the Los Angeles Rams first and the Chiefs second. But the MMQB staff flipped those two teams in their rankings, ranking the Chiefs first!
The writers gave the Miami Dolphins the biggest boost of the week. The Dolphins moved up 10 spots in our aggregated rankings; the pundits moved them between six and fourteen spots up. As a group, the pundits also liked what they saw in the Detroit Lions’ first win of the season against the New England Patriots — pushing them up eight places — and moved the Carolina Panthers and New Orleans Saints into the Top 10.
Even though the San Francisco 49ers expressed confidence in backup quarterback C.J. Beathard after starter Jimmy Garoppolo was lost for the season during their defeat at the hands of the Chiefs, the scribes weren’t buying it. They dropped the 49ers nine spots, which was the biggest drop of the week. The writers also weren’t impressed with what they saw from the Denver Broncos and Dallas Cowboys, dropping both teams six spots in the aggregated rankings.
The Chiefs go back on the road Monday night to face the Broncos in a big divisional game. Can the Chiefs extend their record to 4-0 — and if they do, what will the pundits think of it? We’ll find out next Tuesday.
On Wednesday, Arrowhead Pride will once again combine what the pundits told us today with what the number-crunchers say after this past weekend’s games to give you True Power Rankings!
And starting next Tuesday, we’ll change things up a little. We’ll add power rankings from USA Today to the mix of pundit rankings we track, and provide live updates as each set of power rankings comes in!