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After the Kansas City Chiefs edged the Las Vegas Raiders 30-29 on Monday Night Football, it would have been reasonable to expect a couple of writers to decide some other team deserved to move into Kansas City’s spot — but that didn’t happen. Every ranking is unchanged from a week ago. It’s almost as if the writers are all waiting for the result of a certain future game before they make a change...
Here’s this week’s sampling:
NFL.com: 3
(unchanged from 3)
Can’t say I’m totally on board with the Never Cover Travis Kelce strategy deployed by the Raiders on the goal line, but the Chiefs weren’t complaining after their star tight end gobbled up all four of Patrick Mahomes’ short touchdown passes in a 30-29 primetime win at Arrowhead. Kansas City dug itself out of a 17-0 first-half hole thanks to a Mahomes-led offense that, when warmed up, operates like a runaway freight train going downhill. Kelce remains at the center of everything, a prodigious producer who always seems to deliver his best moments when the lights are brightest. In an NFL bereft of consistent playmaking at tight end, Kelce is a cheat-code outlier.
— Dan Hanzus
ESPN: 1
(unchanged from 1)
Chance to make the playoffs: 99.0%
Chance to win their division: 87.8%
The Chiefs need to improve their defense in the red zone. They were allowing a touchdown on 80% of their opponents’ trips inside the 20 — worst in the league — heading into Monday night’s game against the Raiders. This flaw was already costly in the loss to the Colts, when an inability to force a field goal on Indy’s first and last possessions was the difference in the game. To ensure the Chiefs make the playoffs, this needs to be fixed.
— Adam Teicher
The Athletic: 3
(unchanged from 3)
Trade idea: Bears running back David Montgomery
Kansas City entered Monday night ranked 18th in rushing DVOA before Clyde Edwards-Helaire ran for 15 yards on nine carries (though Jerick McKinnon rushed for 53 yards on only eight carries). Montgomery is in the final year of his rookie deal and is being outproduced by Khalil Herbert. The Bears would have to consider any reasonable offer, one would assume. Travis Kelce’s line against the Raiders was insane, by the way. Until Monday night, there had been 41 games in NFL history in which a player had at least four receiving touchdowns. Only one of those players, Marvin Jones in 2019, had fewer than 100 receiving yards, and he had 93. Kelce had 25!
— Bo Wulf
CBSSports.com: 3
(unchanged from 3)
Words of wisdom: Don’t fall behind by 17 to the Bills this week like you did against the Raiders. The Bills-Chiefs game should be a shootout. I can’t wait.
— Pete Prisco
Yahoo! Sports: 3
(unchanged from 3)
The Chiefs were tested by the Raiders. The comeback from a 17-0 deficit was impressive, though it also seemed inevitable because Patrick Mahomes is a magician. Travis Kelce also had one of the weirdest stat lines you’ll ever see: seven catches for 25 yards but four touchdowns, a Chiefs record for a tight end.
— Frank Schwab
The Sporting News: 3
(unchanged from 3)
Mahomes and the Chiefs fired up more impressive versatile offense against the Buccaneers in Week 5 and were ready to shred the Raiders’ defense again just enough (hello, Travis Kelce) ahead of their latest monumental high-scoring matchup with the Bills.
— Vinnie Iyer
USA Today: 3
(unchanged from 3)
They began Monday celebrating Indigenous Peoples’ Day — a little weird considering their nickname? — and ended it celebrating an escape act from the Raiders, hard as the officials made that task.
— Nate Davis
Mile High Report: 2
(unchanged from 2)
When we all thought that the AFC West was going to be the pinnacle of football, so far it’s none other than the NFC East of all places that has currently proved us wrong. The Eagles, Cowboys, and Giants have all had strong starts to their seasons, and that has really given Broncos Country even more heartache because we really missed out on having Brian Daboll as Denver’s head coach.
— Ross Allen
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