NFL Power Rankings Roundup: Chiefs Getting Due Respect Entering Wild Card Weekend

Heading into the Wild Card round of the NFL playoffs, power rankings lists have the Kansas City Chiefs held in high regard.

Jan 5, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid talks with down judge Patrick Holt (106) after a play in the second quarter against the Denver Broncos at Empower Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images / Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

Week 18 wasn't kind to the Kansas City Chiefs but luckily for them, they didn't need it to be. Andy Reid's team already had the No. 1 playoff seed in the AFC locked up, preserving a first-round bye and home-field advantage for January. Even after a shutout loss to the Denver Broncos, not a ton has changed.

Where do the back-to-back Super Bowl champs slot in compared to their peers? Let's take a look at some end-of-season NFL power rankings from major outlets as the Wild Card round of the playoffs approaches.

The 33rd Team: 1

Kansas City maintains its standing atop the league in The 33rd Team's weekly set of NFL power rankings. Marcus Mosher writes that with good health and some rest on their side, this team will be at an advantage.

The Kansas City Chiefs rested just about everyone in Week 18, and it resulted in a blowout loss to Denver. But the most important thing is that Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, and Chris Jones got another week to rest going into the playoffs. The Chiefs won’t play until Round 2, but they should be the league’s most rested team going into the playoffs. – Marcus Mosher

Bleacher Report: 1

The same ranking is present in this week's power rankings from the Bleacher Report analyst crew. With championship DNA on their side, the Chiefs will be a tough out moving forward.

How does the old saying go? To be the champ, you have to beat the champ? I don't think the Chiefs have the most talented roster in the NFL this year, but their ability to win close games is unmatched. They also have the league's best head coach—with all due respect to coaches like Kevin O'Connell, Dan Campbell and Matt LaFleur—and the league's best quarterback. The road to the Super Bowl will also run through Kansas City in the AFC. Will the Chiefs pull off the unprecedented three-peat? I don't know, but I'll be fairly surprised if they don't find a way to return to the Super Bowl. – Kristopher Knox

Sports Illustrated: 2

After keeping Kansas City lower than most others for almost the entire season, Conor Orr brings them up from fifth to second with the playoffs on the horizon. Even with some questions the team has to answer, Orr isn't voting against the reigning champs.

The clock has reset, and now Andy Reid has another week to observe before inheriting his first opponent of the postseason. I can talk big noise all year about how this team has statistically underperformed and has had incredibly good fortune in tight games, but it doesn’t matter. I am not picking against them this postseason. – Conor Orr

The Athletic: 3

This week's set of power rankings from The Athletic keeps the Chiefs in the same No. 3 spot. The focus is "one lesson learned," which is Patrick Mahomes remaining almost invaluable.

That’s Most Important Player. There’s a great three-way race between Josh Allen, Joe Burrow and Lamar Jackson for MVP this year, but given truth serum, every coach in the league would take Mahomes at quarterback. He’s 15-1 this year as a starter (he sat out Sunday), and since 2018, he is 103-26 and has won three Super Bowls and played in another. Mahomes finished 10th in the league in EPA per dropback this season (.13). He’s still the best guy doing it right now. – Josh Kendall

NFL: 1

Until being given a reason to move Kansas City down a rung or two on the ladder, this outlet won't be doing so. Eric Edholm thinks the path to a conference title game berth is there for the Chiefs.

Kansas City's reserves were walloped in Denver, with the Chiefs having earned the right to play as hard as they wanted to while extending the rest period for their big dogs in pursuit of a third straight championship. Kansas City is as well-positioned and prepared as any team out there to go win it. The defense hadn't allowed more than 19 points in any of the previous five games before Sunday. DB Chamarri Conner suffered a shoulder injury in the Week 18 loss to the Broncos, but he has two weeks to get healthy.

The offense is doing just fine, too. Patrick Mahomes was heating up down the stretch, having posted an 11:0 TD-to-INT ratio since mid-November. The switch of Joe Thuney to left tackle seemed to pay off, and the Chiefs might not trust D.J. Humphries enough to go back to him in the playoffs. Either way, they should be heavy favorites to get through the Divisional Round and reach another AFC Championship Game. – Eric Edholm

FOX Sports: 2

In the aftermath of Week 18's game, some folks made a big deal about such an embarrassing Chiefs loss to the Broncos. David Helman isn't one of them, though, as he thinks the context of the regular-season finale makes the trade more than worth it.

Don’t care a lick that the Chiefs sat their starters, or that they suffered the biggest loss of the Andy Reid Era against Denver. That was their reward for clinching the AFC’s No. 1 seed a week early. They’ll be rested and ready for the divisional round. – David Helman

CBS Sports: 1

Pete Prisco's brief reasoning for the Chiefs occupying his top spot is simple: they're the Chiefs.

They head into the playoffs as the top seed. Beating them at home with Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid is going to be a tough thing to do. They are also getting healthier. – Pete Prisco

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