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Since the Kansas City Chiefs had to come from behind to beat the Los Angeles Chargers 27-24 on Thursday night — and the Buffalo Bills dismantled the Tennessee Titans 41-7 on Monday night — it shouldn’t be a surprise that no one decided this was the week to place the Chiefs ahead of the Bills in their power ranking. What might be surprising, however, is that no one decided to drop Kansas City further.
Here’s this week’s sampling:
NFL.com: 2
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It wasn’t always pretty, but the Chiefs took care of business against a rival who came uncomfortably close to sending shockwaves through the AFC West. The hero of the 27-24 win over the Chargers? Jaylen Watson, of course. The seventh-round pick stepped in front of a pass from Justin Herbert for the game-turning pick-six in the fourth quarter. This game was about getting key contributions in unlikely places: In addition to Watson’s INT, the Chiefs received scores from wide receiverJustin Watson and reserve running back Jerick McKinnon. After a summer of hype for the entire division, the Chiefs remain positioned as the clear kings of the West heading into Week 3.
— Dan Hanzus
ESPN: 2
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Biggest early adjustment: Create more pressure on the pass rush
The Chiefs are 28th in the league in pressures (26.4%), according to NFL Next Gen Stats. But they are seventh in pressures when blitzing (40.9%). Other than Chris Jones, who has two sacks, the Chiefs aren’t getting the job done with their front four. They need the help of sending an extra defender. The Chiefs are 17th in the league in blitz percentage at 24%.
— Adam Teicher
The Athletic: 2
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Two weeks in, the Chiefs lead the NFL in EPA per drive. Ho-hum. It really is that simple when the league’s best quarterback has one of the league’s best offensive lines. The defense, meanwhile, ranks 20th in EPA per drive, which is perfectly fine, especially if it’s going to take advantage of opportunities to force turnovers.
As a courtesy to the editor charged with fact-checking these power rankings, let’s not declaratively say that the Chiefs’ Thursday night win was the first game in NFL history in which two separate J. Watsons scored touchdowns, but it definitely felt like that.
— Bo Wulf
CBSSports.com: 2
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They weren’t as crisp on offense against the Chargers, but they still found a way. The defense made some huge plays in that game to win it.
— Pete Prisco
Yahoo! Sports: 2
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The Chiefs are doing just fine, but relying more on backs and tight ends in the passing offense. JuJu Smith-Schuster has 89 yards in two games and Marquez Valdes-Scantling has 57. Eventually the Chiefs will need a receiver to emerge as a dangerous option, but this approach is working for the Chiefs so far.
— Frank Schwab
The Sporting News: 2
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The Chiefs’ offense came down to earth against the Chargers’ strong defense but the Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs’ defense made the big plays needed to get the best of Justin Herbert. Kansas City won’t be giving Buffalo any breathing room before the teams’ epic playoff rematch in Week 6.
— Vinnie Iyer
USA Today: 2
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Does Andy Reid really get adequate appreciation? Last week, he joined George Halas, Don Shula and Bill Belichick as the only coaches with career win-loss records 100 games over .500. Reid now sits at 235-135-1.
— Nate Davis
Mile High Report: 2
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I know the Titans aren’t that good, but the Bills are firing on all cylinders right now, on both sides of the football. There seems to be little to no issues through the first couple weeks of the season, especially with Von Miller looking as good as he did during his Super Bowl 50 MVP campaign.
— Tim Lynch
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