The Kansas City Chiefs (6-3) are fresh off their bye week and are now preparing for their game Sunday against the New York Giants (1-8).
Despite not playing last weekend, the Chiefs still hold a two-game advantage in the AFC West.
The Los Angeles Chargers (3-6) and Denver Broncos (3-6) both lost their games, while the Oakland Raiders (4-5) were also on their bye week. The Chargers dropped an overtime heartbreaker to the Jacksonville Jaguars, 20-17, while the Broncos were drilled by the Patriots, 41-16.
As is the case every Tuesday morning, the latest NFL power rankings have been released.
So, did the Chiefs stay inside the Top 10 after some much-needed time off? Yes, yes they did.
Here's what Elliot Harrison of NFL.com had to say about the Chiefs, who came in at No. 8 in his rankings this week:
"Much-needed rest for the Chiefs, who screamed through the first five games of 2017, only to hit the skids over the last month. As I wrote in the Power Rankings last week, remember the difficult schedule this team has played. Now the offensive line is intact, with Mitch Morse and Laurent Duvernay-Tardif fully healthy -- well, as healthy as offensive linemen can be at this point in the season. Getting Kareem Hunt going again will be helpful, as the running back has slowed after his torrid pace early on. Perhaps he's hitting a rookie wall, though Week 10 would be a bit early for such things. Educated guess: Kansas City is probably an 11-5 or 12-4 team."
To round out the AFC West in Harrison's rankings, the Raiders come in at No. 17, the Chargers at No. 18, and the Broncos at No. 22.
Looking ahead, the Chiefs will face only one team (the Buffalo Bills – No. 15) the rest of the season that's currently ranked in the top 15.
Also, the Chiefs are 2-1 on the year against teams currently ranked inside the top 5 (Philadelphia Eagles – No. 1, New England Patriots – No. 3, and Pittsburgh Steelers – No. 5).
According to the rankings at Sports Illustrated, the Chiefs are No. 7 this week.
They received two first-place votes, along with five seventh-place votes from the 15-person panel of experts over there at the MMQB Power Poll.
The Chiefs also come in at No. 6 this week at Yahoo Sports, and are No. 5 at ESPN.
