NFL Power Rankings, way too early edition: Who can finally knock off these Chiefs?

Super Bowl Sunday was a great day for the Kansas City Chiefs and absolutely depressing for the rest of the NFL.

Seeing the Chiefs win their third Super Bowl in the Patrick Mahomes era, on their fourth trip in five years, led to an uncomfortable reality: If the rest of the league couldn’t beat the Chiefs this past season, why would it happen next year, or the year after that?

This was the worst season the Chiefs have had in their six with Mahomes at quarterback. They were not the best team in the AFC during the season. That was the Baltimore Ravens, who were excellent. They probably weren’t second-best either. The Buffalo Bills were probably better too. It’s a stretch, but you can argue the Miami Dolphins even had a better regular season. Over in the NFC, the 49ers were better during the season.

And none of it mattered. The Chiefs beat them all when it mattered in the playoffs. And thinking ahead to next season, the 2024 Chiefs are unlikely to be as up and down as the 2023 Chiefs. And it’s far from a guarantee there will be another team next season as good as the 2023 Ravens or 2023 49ers.

So what will change? It’s not like having an elite quarterback to match Mahomes helped the Bills or Ravens. Having the better overall roster didn’t help the 49ers. If there’s a blueprint to beat the Chiefs, nobody has figured it out yet.

The Chiefs start the offseason as the No. 1 team in the way-too-early power rankings. There’s no other reasonable way to pick anyone else. They have a great shot to complete the first Super Bowl three-peat in history.

Maybe the Buffalo Bills finally put it together or Lamar Jackson gets over his postseason struggles. Perhaps a team like the Los Angeles Chargers takes off with Jim Harbaugh or the Houston Texans, with their own incredible quarterback story in C.J. Stroud, prove to be a worthy rival. Maybe the Cincinnati Bengals get back on track with Joe Burrow healthy or the Cleveland Browns’ defense maintains its excellence next…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/nfl-power-rankings-way-too-early-edition-who-can-finally-knock-off-these-chiefs-161638920.html

Author : Yahoo Sports

Publish date : 2024-02-13 16:17:24

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