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If you were thinking the Kansas City Chiefs would stay at the top of everyone’s power rankings after their 40-32 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday, there is bad news: just one of the writers we’re following chose to keep the Chiefs ranked first. The rest seem to fall into two main groups: those who think the Chiefs will find their way back to the top — and those who think they are pretenders that somehow remained undefeated for four weeks.
Here’s our sampling:
NFL.com: 2
(down from 1)
The Chiefs were eventually going to lose. It hadn’t happened since last November, so really, they were overdue. But it was how Kansas City lost that makes you wonder. Derek Carr and the Raiders piled up nearly 500 yards of total offense — with five plays of at least 40 yards — and Patrick Mahomes was regularly running for his life against a Vegas pass rush that had been lifeless before Sunday. Mahomes was pressured 16 times on Sunday, the second-most pressures he has faced in an NFL game, per Next Gen Stats. Mahomes’ first interception of the season, a huge turnover midway through the fourth quarter, came on a throw made from a crumbling pocket. Was this merely a bad week… or a sign of bigger issues?
— Dan Hanzus
ESPN: 3
(down from 1)
Biggest weakness: Too much pressure on Patrick Mahomes
Mahomes is facing too much pressure even when opponents aren’t blitzing. He has been pressured on 34.7% of his dropbacks when not facing a blitz, the second-highest rate in the league. This disparity is throwing off the passing game’s usual efficiency. It’s easy to blame the offensive line, but that group is 14th in pass block win rate at 60.9%. Mahomes deserves some of the blame. He has a tendency to drift in the pocket, which makes a lineman’s job more difficult.
— Adam Teicher
Sports Illustrated MMQB: 2
(down from 1)
Last week: Loss vs. Las Vegas 40-32
Next week: at Buffalo (Monday)
Going back to the start of 2019—and including postseason—the Chiefs had been 14-0 with an average margin of victory of 14.4 points when their offense was fully healthy before Sunday. The Raiders loss moves that record to 14-1 with a +12.9 average point differential. There are, objectively, protection issues that haven’t been there since the front five suffered a series of injuries around this time last season (the dark days of Cameron Erving, blindside protector), but c’mon… it’s the Chiefs. They’ll be fine by November.
— Gary Gramling
CBSSports.com: 4
(down from 1)
The defense fell flat against the Raiders. One other thing that is showing up is the poor play by the offensive line. It just hasn’t been as good.
— Pete Prisco
Yahoo! Sports: 1
(unchanged from 1)
I don’t like college football and basketball polls that automatically move a team down due to a loss. It’s the whole body of work. Put simply, the Chiefs lost, but it happens and I’d still pick Kansas City to beat any other NFL team on a neutral field. I’m fine sticking with the Chiefs as the best team in the NFL. It’s not the best idea to drastically change your opinion on a team based on one game.
— Frank Schawb
The Sporting News: 2
(down from 1)
The Chiefs didn’t claim to be perfect with Patrick Mahomes. Sometimes he doesn’t have every answer with his arm and legs for another team making big pass plays and running all over Kansas City’s defense. But getting the loss out of the way takes away some pressure and also leads to a laser-refocused team for when eventually everything counts a lot more in the playoffs.
— Vinnie Iyer
USA Today: 6
(down from 1)
Good time to stop and take a pause ... and acknowledge Kansas City has only looked impressive twice (Texans, Ravens) despite its 4-1 start.
— Nate Davis
The Washington Post: 2
(down from 1)
The loss to the Raiders can be forgiven, for now. Just don’t make it a habit. Actually, not having the burden of trying to chase a perfect season might work in the Chiefs’ favor as they seek to repeat.
— Mark Maske
Mile High Report: 4
(down from 1)
The Kings of the NFL in the Kansas City Chiefs suffered their first setback of 2020 in a home loss to the surprising Las Vegas Raiders. However, if you are a Raiders fan reading this you likely won’t get any respect from this Broncos fan. Too bad, so sad.
— Tim Lynch
Bleeding Green Nation: 3
(down from 1)
The Chiefs usually dominate their AFC West opponents but they’ve sure looked mortal against them this year. KC needed overtime to beat the Bolts and they suffered their first loss to Las Vegas. Pat Mahomes finally threw an interception. What a fraud.
— Brandon Lee Gowton