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The Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Oakland Raiders, 21-13, on Thursday Night Football. Given the Raiders were a top-five team across the board, that boded well for this week's power rankings.
Here's how the Chiefs rank headed into Week 15 of the NFL season.
AVERAGE POWER RANKINGS POSITION: 3
NFL.com's Elliot Harrison has the Chiefs at No. 3, up two ranks from last week.
"Obviously an important win over the Raiders in terms of the AFC West race. But don't sleep on home-field advantage with these guys. Anything can happen over these last three weeks, including the Patriots losing in Denver and Miami. Likely? Perhaps not. But those are two cities in which Bill Belichick has had trouble over the years. K.C. will get that No. 2 seed if they win out. Man oh man is that easier to do with Justin Houston, Tamba Hali and Dee Ford playing together. (Maybe I should have said man on man.)"
Harrison has the Raiders at No. 4, the Broncos at No. 9 and the Chargers at No. 25.
CBS Sports' Pete Prisco has the Chiefs at No. 3, up one rank from last week.
"Are you a believer? It might be time for that. They are playing well."
Bleacher Report's Chris Simms has the Chiefs at No. 3, up one rank from last week.
"I doubted Kansas City's ability to manufacture non-offensive touchdowns.
And boy was I wrong. The way this team scores points is no fluke. Coach Andy Reid can count on a big Tyreek Hill return or a defensive score. It happens every week.
In fact, the 'conservative' label I once applied to this team no longer fits. Alex Smith might be a game manager at quarterback, but he's surrounded with top-shelf talent like Hill and Travis Kelce. Same goes for all of K.C.'s defensive talent. There's nothing conservative about what's happening with this squad."
ESPN has the Chiefs at No. 3, up seven ranks from last week.
"The Chiefs are now 20-3 since Week 7 of last season, best in the NFL. The Chiefs have a plus-27 turnover margin in that time. Next closest? The Raiders at plus-16. The Chiefs look to keep on rolling against the Titans in Week 15."
Yahoo! Sports' Frank Schwab has the Chiefs at No. 3, up one rank from last week.
"Between Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill, the Chiefs have two dangerous playmakers in the passing game. Jeremy Maclin, once he's all the way back from a groin injury, is pretty good at moving the chains. The Chiefs are becoming as balanced a team as we have in this crazy NFL season."
