Chiefs drop in some NFL power rankings after overtime win against Chargers
A victory that required overtime was enough to drop the Chiefs from the top spot in multiple NFL power rankings.
On Sunday, the Chiefs rallied for a 23-20 win at Los Angeles, while the Ravens rolled over the Texans. That was enough for many to put Baltimore ahead of the Chiefs heading into the “Monday Night Football” meeting between the teams.
Here is where the Chiefs, 2-0, were placed in nine NFL power rankings and what experts were saying about Kansas City:
The Chiefs were bumped to No. 2 in the ranking from NFL.com. This is a snippet of what Dan Hanzus wrote: “Sunday’s win over the Chargers was a reminder this is a complete team, not just a bunch of satellites in the orbit of the great and powerful Patrick Mahomes. It was the defense and special teams that closed out LA. Steve Spagnuolo’s unit forced a three-and-out to start overtime, setting up Harrison Butker’s 58-yard field goal to win it.”
The Chiefs fell one spot to No. 2 in USA Today’s rankings. Nate Davis wrote: “Purists may hate to see a defending champ dropped in a power poll when they have yet to lose ... even if they’re benefiting from a bailout of a listless performance courtesy of stellar K Harrison Butk(ick)er.”
The Chiefs maintained their top spot in ESPN’s ranking. This is part of what Adam Teicher wrote about Chiefs’ under-the-radar fantasy standout: “(Travis) Kelce, with two touchdowns in two games, is on pace to exceed his career best in scoring. His highest tally is 10 TDs in 2018.”
The Chiefs were ranked second by Sports Illustrated. Here is an excerpt of what Connor Orr wrote: “This offense is unbeatable and has the luxury of flowing from a Super Bowl into a condensed offseason. We will see how they handle yet another formidable challenge next week.”
The Chiefs fell to second in Bleacher Report’s ranking. “The defending Super Bowl champions are 2-0 and loaded, but I can’t justify keeping them ahead of the Baltimore Ravens after banged-up Kansas City struggled with the inferior Chargers on Sunday,” Brad Gagnon wrote. “They cut it too close, while the Ravens have now outscored their opponents by a combined 49 points.”
The Chiefs stayed at No. 1 in the Sporting News list. This is an excerpt of what Vinnie Iyer wrote: “The run defense continues to have problems and their passing offense isn’t always automatic. But they still have Patrick Mahomes to save the day, and all he needs is a chance late. .”
The Chiefs remained No. 2 in Yahoo’s rankings. Frank Schwab wrote in part: The best part of the Chiefs’ comeback win on Sunday might be that it didn’t take any luster off of their Week 3 matchup against (Baltimore).”
The Chiefs stayed at No. 1 in CBS Sports’ rankings. This is a snippet of what Pete Prisco: “The offense isn’t close to clicking yet. That will come.”
The Chiefs fell to No. 2 in The Ringer’s rankings behind the Baltimore Ravens.
