Chiefs or Rams? NFL pundits weigh in on which team is better right now
With all apologies to the unbeaten Miami Dolphins, there has been a lot of discussion this week about which NFL team is the best right now: the Chiefs or Rams.
Both are 3-0, and the Chiefs lead the NFL with 118 points scored, while Los Angeles has the best point differential at plus-66.
The NFL power rankings that came out this week all tilted toward the Rams at No. 1 and Chiefs right behind.
On the NFL Network, Fox Sports and Bleacher Report, pundits talked about the two teams this week.* There was no consensus about which team is better.
*In some cases it was before the Rams put cornerback Aqib Talib on injured reserve
The “Good Morning Football” crew on the NFL Network was split on the better team.
“If the Kansas City Chiefs face the Rams right now,” Nate Burleson said, “I feel like they’ll like the light up the skies especially without Marcus Peters and Aqib Talib out there bookending the cornerback positions.”
Peter Schrager, who was at Arrowhead Stadium for Sunday’s Chiefs-49ers game, has been a big Patrick Mahomes supporter since the preseason.
“That Arrowhead crowd is insane,” he said. “I don’t see them losing a home game all year after what I saw yesterday and and sky is kind of the limit. Now with the Rams, I love what the Rams are doing, but I do think there are depth issues and I don’t think at home they have this advantage that the Chiefs do.”
Kyle Brandt said: “I love the Chiefs, too. I love Rams, though, for the way they stop guys, not just the way they score.”
Kay Adams said: “What if defenses do somehow find the answer that you’re looking for to stop Mahomes to sort of figure him out at some point or there are injuries? A million things could happen. You have to rely on that defense. That defense is allowing over 500 yards a game right now. Eric Berry can come back, is he really going to be a game changer that stops bleeding points?”
Former Jaguars running back Maurice Jones-Drew spoke on the NFL Network and said the Rams are the best team in the league.
“When you talk about a total team, who is the best team, I think both offenses are really good,” Jones-Drew said. “Defense is the key, though. When you talk about the Los Angeles Rams and their defense, my goodness. Pass rushers everywhere, they have corners and yes, Talib and Peters are out, but you have Nickell Robey-Coleman, you have Sam Shields coming in at cornerback, they have depth at that position.”
On Fox Sports One’s “Speak For Yourself,” former Star sports columnist Jason Whitlock said the Chiefs are the better team. The reason? Mahomes, who Whitlock calls the Steph Curry of football in reference to the Golden State Warriors star.
“Like Curry, Mahomes is the offensive engine that turns a perennial also-ran franchise into a potential dynasty,” Whitlock said. “Mahomes is what separates the 3-0 Chiefs from the 3-0 Rams. (Quarterback) Jared Goff is a hell of a player in Sean McVay’s system. Pat Mahomes is a hell of a player.”
Bleacher Report’s Chris Simms and Adam Lefkoe compared the two offenses.
“I think that the Chiefs (offense) is harder to defend, but I think that the Rams last longer, because I think Sean McVay is that special and I would say that I like the one-one-one talent a lot in Kansas City, but that unit with the Rams ... it feels like a more cohesive, together unit where the Chiefs feels more explosive,” Lefkoe said.
This story was originally published September 27, 2018 at 11:00 AM.