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It’s fair to think that NFL power rankings are useless at the end of the regular season; the playoff seeing is complete. so what else do we need to know? But on the other hand, it’s one last chance for pundits to handicap the race for the championship.
So a few outlets haven’t released power rankings after Sunday’s games. Here’s our sampling from the ones that did choose to weigh in:
NFL.com: 4
(unchanged from 4)
Take a bow, Mecole Hardman. On a day in which the offense again fought a bout of pedestrianism, Hardman put the Chiefs ahead for good in the third quarter with a 104-yard kickoff return. A few minutes later, Damien Williams landed a splash play of his own with an 84-yard touchdown run, and the Chiefs were on their way to a 31-21 win over the Chargers. That all set the stage for the most memorable moment of the day -- the crowd at Arrowhead going bonkers after learning that the Dolphins had knocked off the Patriots in Foxborough, an outcome that allowed Kansas City to slide into the No. 2 seed in the AFC. The Chiefs are now armed with a bye and a level of team balance that doesn’t demand Patrick Mahomes morph into Superman to save the day. Of course, it won’t hurt if Superman shows up in a couple weeks. — Dan Hanzus
ESPN: 4
(unchanged from 4)
Most notable 2010s event: Drafting QB Patrick Mahomes, April 27, 2017
The Chiefs ended decades of a mostly fruitless search for a franchise quarterback when they traded up from No. 27 to No. 10 to draft Mahomes. He is a major reason the Chiefs won the AFC West in each of his two seasons as a starter and that they seem positioned to dominate the division for years to come. — Adam Teicher
CBSSports.com: 3
(unchanged from 3)
The defense has made big-time strides in the past month. Now they have the second seed, which will make them a real Super Bowl threat. — Pete Prisco
The Sporting News: 3
(up from 5)
The Chiefs’ offense keeps finding more answers around Patrick Mahomes with his full health and Damien Williams taking over the backfield like he did late last season. Steve Spagnuolo’s installation of the 4-3 scheme has paid off big-time, from Frank Clark to defensive MVP Tyrann Mathieu. — Vinnie Iyer
USA Today: 4
(unchanged from 4)
TE Travis Kelce was their only player to exceed 1,000 yards from scrimmage, however K.C. did have five others who topped 500 yards. — Nate Davis
Bleeding Green Nation: 2
(unchanged from 2)
The Chiefs haven’t lost a game since November 10. They were fortunate to get help from Miami in order to clinch a first-round bye. Obligatory: “Is this the year Andy Reid finally wins a Super Bowl? We’ll believe it when we see it.” — Brandon Lee Gowton