Kansas City Chiefs

NFL power rankings: Chiefs continue to trend up

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

foxsports

After winning for a second consecutive week, the Kansas City Chiefs have continued to move up the NFL power rankings as a top-10 team.

On Sunday, the Chiefs were able to take down the New Orleans Saints, 27-21. While the game featured some high and lowlights, Kansas City was able to get the job done to move to 4-2 on the year, staying within a half-game of the Denver Broncos and Oakland Raiders in the AFC West.

If the playoffs started today (and they don’t, but still a good measuring stick), the Chiefs would be in the dance. Kansas City has a very good chance to keep the ball rolling over the next month, playing against the Indianapolis Colts, Jacksonville Jaguars, Carolina Panthers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. If the Chiefs play well in each of those games, there is a very real opportunity that Kansas City is 8-2 after 10 games.

So where does the national media have the Chiefs after seven weeks? It’s a consensus top-10 position:

FanSided: 6

Kansas City looks to be back on track after that beating in Pittsburgh. The Chiefs could climb further with the Colts, Jaguars, Panthers and Buccaneers over the next month.

NFL.com: 9

Consider the win Sunday much more in line with what we expect from the Chiefs this season. Well, all except for all the quarterbacks who have torched the secondary late in games ( Roethlisberger in Week 4, Brees in Week 7), a trend that, thankfully, was put on hiatus in Week 6 versus the Raiders. Alex Smith, who had been averaging more than 40 pass attempts per game, was closer to his more familiar totals Sunday, throwing 24 high-percentage passes against the Saints. Spencer Ware once again assumed much of Jamaal Charles’ workload with 131 scrimmage yards and a tug. Can’t wait until Justin Houston comes back.

CBS Sports: 7

The Chiefs have won consecutive games after the bye and seem to be getting it rolling as they go to Indy to play the Colts this week.

Washington Post: 6

The Chiefs have things moving in a positive direction again and now play four straight games against teams (Colts, Jaguars, Panthers, Buccaneers) currently at or below .500.

FOX Sports: 8

The Chiefs, sans Jamaal Charles for the most part, have flown under the radar in the exceptionally strong AFC West, but they’re no team to take lightly. The fact that they’ve won four games without any help from Charles is telling for what the future holds when he is fully healthy. And just wait until Justin Houston returns.

Bleacher Report: 5

It used to be easy to overlook Kansas City’s offense when that dominant defense was rolling. Now? Not so much. Head coach Andy Reid’s offense is one of the most diverse groups in today’s game. So many unique contributors played a role in Week 7, and New Orleans was incapable of defending them all.