It’s entirely reasonable to expect the Kansas City Chiefs to fall in NFL power rankings after losing their season opener to the Los Angeles Chargers. Still, I can’t recall any week during Andy Reid’s tenure that the Chiefs received a double-digit ranking from any outlet.
Here’s this week’s sampling:
NFL.com: 5
(down from 4)
One pass attempt into the season, Patrick Mahomes lost Xavier Worthy indefinitely to a shoulder injury. Rashee Rice is only one week into a six-game suspension. Rookie Jalen Royals is dealing
with knee pain. Hollywood Brown played his role in the opener, Travis Kelce caught a schemed-up TD and JuJu Smith-Schuster made a few plays. But we’re almost right back where Kansas City has been a few times in the recent past, and we know how this movie goes. The Chiefs really labored offensively for much of the loss in Brazil before catching a little fire late against the Chargers. But with the defense really struggling to get stops, it introduced a relatively new storyline to watch. I was hopeful the offense could regain some of its mojo, but I truly thought the D would be stout. With Philly on tap, Kansas City could be in some early heat.
— Eric Edholm
ESPN: 5
(down from 2)
Best newcomer performance: OT Josh Simmons
The Chiefs received a solid performance from their first-round pick in his debut. As the new blindside protector for quarterback Patrick Mahomes, Simmons didn’t surrender a sack despite at times battling Khalil Mack, the Chargers’ best edge rusher. The biggest issue is that Simmons committed two false start penalties. Moving forward, the Chiefs would be wise to use him more often in running plays, as he showed his athleticism in a few snaps last week.
— Nate Taylor
The Athletic: 10
(down from 5)
Their streak of 17 straight wins in one-score games is over, and their margin for error just seems smaller than it used to be. The Chiefs did notch three sacks, but for the most part, they gave Herbert way too much time to throw. They need more from Charles Omenihu, Mike Danna and Derrick Nnadi. And their top pass rusher, Chris Jones, offered an easy escape from the pocket on a crucial, late first-down scramble.
— Josh Kendall
Sports Illustrated: 7
(down from 4)
It was notable how flat the Chiefs seemed to come out on Friday. That is maybe more of a reflection of the NFL shipping one of its most valuable commodities to Brazil of all places for the season opener, but if the most valuable arm in the NFL hurling itself into a defender’s shoulder doesn’t get a team jacked up, I’m not quite sure what will. I’m not ready to call it related to the Super Bowl blowout until I see the rematch this weekend.
— Conor Orr
Pro Football Talk: 7
(down from 2)
Mahomes is still Mahomes, but something seems to be missing.
— Mike Florio
CBSSports.com: 8
(down from 5)
The defense has to be a concern after the Chargers loss. Now here comes the Eagles offense. Steve Spagnuolo has to get it going.
— Pete Prisco
Yahoo! Sports: 7
(down from 4)
Week 2 is never a must-win in the NFL. But Eagles at Chiefs feels pretty big for Kansas City. There’s the Super Bowl revenge angle. Mostly, starting 0-2 with some tough games coming up and some injury concerns wouldn’t be ideal. There will be urgency for the Chiefs in September, which is rare.
— Frank Schwab
The Sporting News: 8
(down from 4)
The Chiefs did not have enough Patrick Mahomes in a one-dimensional pass-heavy offense without Rashee Rice (and now Xavier Worthy) to pull it out late vs. the Chargers. The pass defense concerns may linger with the Eagles next.
— Vinnie Iyer
USA Today: 8
(down from 3)
The only AFC West team to lose in Week 1 is now looking down the barrel at an 0-2 start if it’s still not up to going toe-to-toe with Philly seven months after being thoroughly embarrassed in New Orleans. It would definitely help to get WR Xavier Worthy (shoulder), who had 157 receiving yards and two TDs in the Super Bowl loss, back into the lineup.
— Nate Davis
FOX Sports: 5
(down from 3)
Two years ago, the Chiefs lost on Opening Day. They went on a six-game winning streak after that and a few months later they won the Super Bowl. So don’t panic over their loss to the Chargers. The dynasty isn’t dead yet.
— Ralph Vacchiano
