As I began my seventh season covering the Kansas City Chiefs’ weekly power rankings, I had a new experience: typing “unchanged from 1” under almost every one of these headers. (There was one where I had to type “no preseason ranking”).
To re-use some adjectives appearing in these paragraphs about the Chiefs… that’s scary — if not downright terrifying. Maybe it’s even unfair.
But it’s pretty cool, too. Let’s see how long Kansas City can maintain this “unchanged” streak.
Here’s this week’s sampling:
(unchanged from 1)
Xavier Worthy had a brilliant debut, bringing the big play back to Kansas City’s offense, and Rashee Rice had one of his best games as a pro. There’s plenty of room for improvement, but the Chiefs should be getting Marquise “Hollywood” Brown back from a shoulder injury in the next few weeks, and the Ravens will be one of their tougher matchups all season. K.C.’s defense held Baltimore to 10 points through three quarters but also benefited from a lot of self-inflicted errors from the Ravens. Still, the champs remain the champs, and you better believe they’ll get up for the Bengals coming to town, even after Cincinnati’s shocking loss to the Patriots at home.
— Eric Edholm
(unchanged from 1)
Best newcomer performance: WR Xavier Worthy
Worthy had the impact the Chiefs were hoping for when they drafted him in the first round. He delivered two plays of more than 20 yards, the first one a touchdown on an end-around the first time he got the ball and the other a touchdown catch in the fourth quarter. The Chiefs had three pass plays of more than 30 yards and three others of more than 20. Worthy’s mere presence on the field might have contributed even when it wasn’t him getting the ball. — Adam Teicher
— Adam Teicher
(unchanged from 1)
Is it too early to start talking about a four-peat? Rookie wide receiver Xavier Worthy touched the ball three times and gained 68 yards and scored twice. Second-year receiver Rashee Rice opened the season with the fourth 100-yard game of his career. Eight Chiefs skill-position players touched the ball, and Travis Kelce had only 34 yards, so there’s plenty more there for the Chiefs, who could be the first team to three-peat in the Super Bowl era if they keep this up.
— Josh Kendall
(no previous ranking)
How terrifying for the Chiefs’ opponents that Rashee Rice has matured (on the field) into an incredibly dangerous and lengthy receiver who looks to be a yards-after-the-catch monster. Xavier Worthy is terrifying on a whole different level, giving the Chiefs an all-of-a-sudden set of legitimate stylistic complements who can mix speed and power. Travis Kelce, as he gets older, can evolve more comfortably into a role as a table setter for completions elsewhere. Every year, it seems Patrick Mahomes is having to “break in” part of a team and, certainly, having one of his anchor tackles be a rookie second-round pick is a challenge, but this already looks like the most complete Chiefs team we’ve seen in a few years.
— Conor Orr
(unchanged from 1)
It wasn’t easy. But when is it ever easy for the Chiefs?
— Mike Florio
(unchanged from 1)
We won’t be worrying about their receivers this season. Xavier Worthy can fly and Rashee Rice is taking his game up a notch. Patrick Mahomes will light it up again.
— Pete Prisco
(unchanged from 1)
Winning is winning — it doesn’t matter if it’s by an inch or a mile. Dom Toretto’s immortal words rang in my ears as I watched the defending champs hold off the Ravens by a literal toenail. Dramatic as the opener might have been, the Chiefs revamped offense looks just as explosive as we thought it might. That’s a scary thought.
— David Helman
(unchanged from 1)
A Chiefs trio of Rashee Rice, Xavier Worthy and Marquise Brown (when he’s healthy) should be scary for the rest of the NFL. Rice looked sharp in the opener and Worthy’s playmaking ability will have to be accounted for on every snap. Oh, and Travis Kelce is still a factor in the passing game. Patrick Mahomes is going to have some fun this season.
— Frank Schwab
(unchanged from 1)
The Chiefs came out finding more weapons for Patrick Mahomes and made the key defensive plays to remind the Ravens and the rest of the league how big of favorites they are to win a third consecutive Super Bowl.
— Vinnie Iyer
(unchanged from 1)
If you think it’s patently unfair that a two-time defending champion led by three-time Super Bowl MVP QB Patrick Mahomes would land WR Xavier Worthy, who scored two TDs in his NFL debut, in the first round of the draft… then blame the Bills. Buffalo traded K.C. the Round 1 selections used both on Mahomes in 2017 and Worthy.
— Nate Davis
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