Chiefs slip in most, but not all, NFL power rankings following first loss of 2020
The Chiefs had been a unanimous No. 1 team in NFL power rankings a week ago, but Sunday’s 40-32 loss to the Raiders meant a change was coming.
For the most part, the Chiefs didn’t fall far in the latest power rankings, and in one case kept their top spot.
Because of a rare Tuesday night game, not everyone updated their rankings of the NFL teams. Here is where the Chiefs, 4-1, were placed on six lists and what was written about Kansas City.
The Chiefs slipped to No. 4 in Pro Football Talk’s ranking. Mike Florio wrote: “They’re vulnerable when playing opponents that don’t have their full attention.”
The Chiefs were dropped to No. 3 in ESPN’s list. Adam Teicher said the team’s biggest weakness is too much pressure on quarterback Patrick Mahomes. Here is part of what he wrote: “It’s easy to blame the offensive line, but that group is 14th in pass block win rate at 60.9%. Mahomes deserves some of the blame. He has a tendency to drift in the pocket, which makes a lineman’s job more difficult.”
The Chiefs also slipped to No. 3 in Bleacher Report’s ranking. Here is a snippet of what Brad Gagnon wrote: “I know they’re the defending champs and they should probably remain the Super Bowl favorite, but this was the Chiefs’ second relatively poor performance in a four-week span. They just haven’t been consistently crisp enough to hold the top spot.”
The Chiefs fell to No. 2 in the Sporting News list. Vinnie Iyer wrote in part: “The Chiefs didn’t claim to be perfect with Patrick Mahomes. Sometimes he doesn’t have every answer with his arm and legs for another team making big pass plays and running all over Kansas City’s defense.”
The Chiefs kept their top spot in the Yahoo Sports’ ranking. This is an excerpt of what Frank Schwab wrote: “I don’t like college football and basketball polls that automatically move a team down due to a loss. It’s the whole body of work. Put simply, the Chiefs lost, but it happens and I’d still pick Kansas City to beat any other NFL team on a neutral field.”
The Chiefs slipped to No. 2 in The Ringer’s ranking. Here is part of what Danny Kelly wrote: “The 8-point loss represents the worst defeat of Patrick Mahomes’ young NFL career. It’s hardly an indictment on the Chiefs’ Super Bowl hopes in 2020 ― on the contrary, they remain one of the best teams in the league ― but this loss, combined with the underwhelming performance against the Chargers in Week 2, shows that the AFC West is no longer the cakewalk it used to be for this Kansas City team.”
