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After Week 1’s NFL games, it appears that few minds were changed about the Kansas City Chiefs. In most of the rankings we monitor, Sunday’s 33-29 defeat of the Cleveland Browns didn’t make a difference in where the team was ranked.
Here’s our weekly sampling:
NFL.com: 2
(unchanged from 2)
Patrick Mahomes is a football genius. How else can you explain that impossible downfield heave that resulted in Tyreek Hill’s 75-yard touchdown in Sunday’s comeback win over the Browns? Mahomes is a relentless force, and his greatness covered up for the sins of a defense that couldn’t get the Cleveland attack off the field all day (the Browns punted once all game). Here’s an all-time crazy stat: In his career in September, Mahomes is 11-0 with 35 touchdowns and zero interceptions. That’s playing-Madden-on-”easy”-level dominance against the greatest football players in the world. We are all witnesses.
— Dan Hanzus
ESPN: 1
(unchanged from 1)
Top rookie: G Trey Smith
Smith had a pass block win rate of 100%. His run block win rate of 68.8% was in the middle of the pack for starting guards, but still impressive enough for a sixth-round pick making his first NFL start. At the very least, Smith validated the Chiefs’ decision to put him in the starting lineup.
— Adam Teicher
Sports Illustrated: 3
(down from 1)
Patrick Mahomes’s late touchdown to Tyreek Hill is the perfect encapsulation of why the Chiefs are still a favorite to win the AFC. You can play the team perfectly, scheme a game flawlessly and control the clock and the team can still abandon the outer limits of what we thought was athletically possible and blindside you with a gutting backyard football play in the fourth quarter. Until you find a Tyreek Hill to guard Tyreek Hill, you’d better hope a few balls bounce your way.
— Conor Orr
Note: before Week 1, a panel of SI writers voted to create the rankings. From now on, individual writers will rotate.
CBSSports.com: 2
(up from 3)
Patrick Mahomes rallied the Chiefs against the Browns, but the defense has to be better. They got pushed around at times.
— Pete Prisco
Yahoo! Sports: 1
(unchanged from 1)
In the second half of last season, the Chiefs kept doing just enough to win. They didn’t blow anyone out. It’s not a good habit for an elite team to get into. Yet on Sunday, the Chiefs fell behind and had to rally to win. The Browns are good and the Chiefs will get healthier, but it’ll be nice to see them dominate some opponents (it probably won’t happen at Baltimore in Week 2).
— Frank Schawb
The Sporting News: 2
(unchanged from 2)
They have Patrick Mahomes and sometimes that’s more than enough to overcome questionable performances by the defense and running game, as was the case against the Browns. Mahomes to Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce can save any day in a spectacular way. The defense continues to show its knack for timely big plays, too.
— Vinnie Iyer
USA Today: 2
(unchanged from 2)
The re-engineered offensive line generally held up well – particularly given three players with zero NFL experience were debuting – as did Kansas City’s proclivity to fall into double-digit holes before dramatically climbing out of them.
— Nate Davis
The Washington Post: 2
(unchanged from 2)
The Chiefs sent a Week 1 message that they remain the team to beat in the AFC. It wasn’t easy. They faced deficits of 15-3, 22-10 and 29-20 against the Browns. But QB Patrick Mahomes, WR Tyreek Hill and TE Travis Kelce made the plays that needed to be made, just as they almost always seem to do.
— Mark Maske
Mile High Report: 2
(unchanged from 2)
Given where I started off last week, things kind of remained where they were this week. A few teams tumbled and rose, but by and large they remained in the same tiers where I had them.
— Tim Lynch
Bleeding Green Nation: 2
(unchanged from 2)
The Chiefs are now 10-1 in one-score games since the start of last season. It’s not untrue to say they “know how to win.” But it’s not like there aren’t cracks in the armor. It’s just hard to take advantage of them to the extent that Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid can’t make up for it.
— Brandon Lee Gowton
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