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If you were expecting a substantial improvement in their power rankings after the Kansas City Chiefs were defeated by the Buffalo Bills 38-20 on Sunday Night Football, we can’t help you — although rather amazingly, they actually rose one spot in one of the Week 6 rankings.
Here’s our weekly sampling:
NFL.com: 10
(down from 8)
Following a humbling blowout loss at home on Sunday Night Football, you can imagine the Chiefs wondering aloud — to borrow a Madden-ism — where that truck came from. The 18-wheeler in question was Josh Allen, Micah Hyde and the rest of a Buffalo Bills team that put Kansas City on notice: You may be the back-to-back defending conference champion, but you’re not the best team in the AFC. The truth is, it’s not close right now. The Chiefs have been mistake-prone on offense and overmatched on defense, facts the Bills laid bare. “You kind of have to take it on the chin,” Patrick Mahomes said. “We’ve still got a long season left, but this one you’re going to remember.”
— Dan Hanzus
ESPN: 10
(up from 11)
Most improved player: TE Jody Fortson
How they’ve improved: After two seasons on the Chiefs’ practice squad as a wide receiver, Fortson was moved to tight end in the spring and has been quite a find. He caught all four of his targets this season, with two of them going for touchdowns. At 240 pounds, he is not the ideal size for a tight end but has shown well as a blocker, too.
— Adam Teicher
Sports Illustrated: 13
(down from 4)
Five new linemen. Some aging and banged-up pieces on defense. Thirty-eight games the last two years. It’s easy to see, with the benefit of hindsight, where the Chiefs hitting some roadblocks might happen early this year.
— Albert Breer
CBSSports.com: 12
(down from 9)
They are so bad on defense right now that even Patrick Mahomes can’t bail them out. And he wasn’t good against the Bills either. They have to turn it around quickly.
— Pete Prisco
Yahoo! Sports: 10
(down from 6)
Clyde Edwards-Helaire might not be what the Chiefs were looking for when they drafted him in the first round a year ago, but he had played well for two weeks before injuring his knee Sunday. Removing him from the lineup for a few weeks while he recovers from a sprained MCL makes Kansas City’s list of playmakers even shorter. They’re still a great offense but a lot thinner than you’d like.
— Frank Schwab
The Sporting News: 10
(down from 9)
Mahomes and the Chiefs are back under .500 with more mistakes given their limited margin offensive affair, and all their losses have come to teams (Ravens, Chargers, Bills) that all have the capacity to dethrone them from the two-year reign as AFC champions. The defense wouldn’t be a quick fix, even if it gets healthy.
— Vinnie Iyer
USA Today: 10
(down from 9)
It’s not often when Kansas City is on par with Jacksonville, but this has been a strange season – and the clubs share the NFL lead with 11 turnovers. K.C. QB Patrick Mahomes’ six INTs match his total from 2020 and are halfway to his career high of 12 (2018)
— Nate Davis
The Washington Post: 13
(down from 10)
There is so much here that needs to be fixed. The defense can’t get a stop. The offense is stopping itself with all the turnovers. QB Patrick Mahomes is talking about needing to reevaluate his approach to on-field decision-making. But this is still Mahomes and these are still the Chiefs. It’s a long season and plenty of time remains for solutions to be found.
— Mark Maske
Mile High Report: 14
(down from 7)
The Kansas City Chiefs look like a team that can’t stop anyone and can no longer depend on Patrick Mahomes to bail them out. Their offense is tied for the league lead in turnovers and their defense has given up the most points this season through five games.
— Tim Lynch
Bleeding Green Nation: 10
(down from 9)
How the mighty have fallen. The Chiefs’ season is far from over but the damage is probably done in terms of not being able to land the No. 1 seed. KC’s defense is just so bad.
— Brandon Lee Gowton
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