Here’s some fun with small sample sizes: The Kansas City Chiefs are in last place of the AFC West.
It’s just one week, but the Chiefs are 0-1 after an opening week loss to the Chargers. The Chargers, Broncos and Raiders are all 1-0, and that’s part of the problem for the Chiefs.
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The AFC West won’t be like the AFC East for a couple decades, when the Patriots were undeniably great and the rest of the division was absolutely incompetent. The Chargers and Broncos were playoff teams last season, should be very good again and are legitimate threats to Kansas City’s streak of nine straight division titles.
The Chiefs have issues. When Xavier Worthy went down on the third play of last Friday’s game with a shoulder injury, a familiar problem emerged. Patrick Mahomes had to do everything himself. He almost did, but the Chargers held him off. Going forward, an offense without Worthy (it’s unclear how much time he might miss due to injury) or a suspended Rashee Rice in September is flawed. Hollywood Brown had 16 targets in Week 1, turning them into only 99 yards, and that isn’t how the Chiefs would draw it up. And that shorthanded offense has upcoming games against the Eagles, Ravens, Jaguars and Lions before Rice comes back after his six-game ban.
The Chiefs lost one of their first 16 games last season. They could blow past that number by mid-October this season. And the rest of the AFC West can probably see it too: The Chiefs might be more vulnerable than usual this season. How Kansas City navigates the next five games will be huge in shaping the entire NFL playoff picture.
Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and head coach Andy Reid are in the rare position of playing from behind in the AFC West. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
(ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Here are the NFL Power Rankings heading into Week 2 of the season:
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The Saints battled and were close to scoring late to either force overtime or go for 2 and the win. But having Spencer Rattler throw the ball 46 times is a bad recipe. There needs to be more balance.
The Colts were the first team since 1978 to score on every possession in a game. That means the Dolphins were the first in 47 years to not get a single stop. If the Dolphins looked that bad against a middling Colts team, how is it going to get much better?
Brian Callahan not challenging an incomplete pass because he didn’t know the rule — he said the receiver needed a foot down as well as his elbow, which is incorrect — is a bad look. There’s no shame in losing a close game at Denver but Callahan’s second season as Titans head coach is off to a rough start.
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The Browns should have won. They outgained the Bengals 327-141 and had twice as many first downs (22-11). If the Browns’ defense plays like that all season, Cleveland will be a tough out. The Browns need to find a reliable kicker though, and Joe Flacco throwing 45 times vs. 24 runs as a team is a bad idea.
Bryce Young putting up a 49 passer rating, which was propped up by a meaningless touchdown in the final five minutes, pours plenty of cold water on the excitement for him coming into the season. We’ll see how he looks in Week 2 at Arizona.
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This will be said often until the change is made: There’s no upside to playing Russell Wilson over Jaxson Dart. Maybe it’s bad for Dart’s development to play behind an offensive line without tackle Andrew Thomas, but it’s clear the Giants wouldn’t be worse right now with Dart at QB.
There might not be a single positive for New England to take from Week 1. Its defense gave up a ton of big plays. Drake Maye looked uncomfortable against what’s probably a bad Raiders defense, in part because his offensive line was poor. There was no run game either. It was a troubling performance.
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The offense with Justin Fields looked good against the tough Steelers defense. Breece Hall and Garrett Wilson really showed up. As long as New York’s offense plays like that, its defense will come around. The Jets will not be an easy out this season.
One of the reasons Jerry Jones repeatedly gave for trading Micah Parsons was to fix Dallas’ run defense. The Eagles ran for 158 yards on the Cowboys in Week 1. Meanwhile, Green Bay’s run defense was fantastic in Week 1, especially when Parsons was on the field.
All of Seattle’s players not named Jaxon Smith-Njigba on Sunday: seven catches, 26 yards. Is that a Sam Darnold problem, or was Darnold hindered by a lack of weapons other than JSN? Whatever it is, the Seahawks will struggle to compete this season without a decent passing game.
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Michael Penix Jr. has shown multiple times, in just a few starts, that he’s great in late-game situations. Atlanta’s defense and special teams blew Sunday’s game after Penix put them in position to win it. The Falcons still have a lot of improvements to make. Their quarterback is promising.
Ben Johnson’s decision to not kick out of bounds with 2:02 left, allowing the Vikings to run the clock under the two-minute warning on the return, was a strategic mistake that cost the Bears 40 valuable seconds. Being a head coach and being an offensive coordinator are much different jobs.
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The Colts’ decision to turn to Daniel Jones at quarterback looked like the right one Sunday. We’ll see if that was more of a reflection of the Dolphins being awful on defense, but Jones had a very good game. Don’t forget, the Colts went 8-9 last season with terrible quarterback play.
Geno Smith was great in Week 1. He threw for 362 yards with an astonishing nine passes of 20 or more yards. The Raiders brought in Pete Carroll and Smith to upgrade the competitiveness of the franchise, and it looks like they’ll do that.
Budda Baker continues to be one of the NFL’s best safeties. On Sunday he had 10 tackles, including one for loss, and was credited with a pass breakup on New Orleans’ second to last play, which would have been a touchdown to potentially tie the game. The seven-time Pro Bowler is still at his peak.
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The Texans’ issues shouldn’t be surprising. They have a bad offensive line, and aside from Nico Collins, are thin at the skill positions. Houston’s defense is very good, but it might not matter that much if its offense can’t block or make any plays in the passing game.
Aaron Rodgers threw for 244 yards, 4 touchdowns and had a passer rating of 136.7. It’s a reminder that Rodgers played fairly well for the last 10 games of last season too. There should still be skepticism of Rodgers at his age, but his Steelers debut looked very good.
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All the talk has been about head coach Liam Coen helping Trevor Lawrence. The biggest help might be that Coen will fix the Jags’ run game. Jacksonville rushed for 200 yards on 6.3 yards per carry in a decisive win over the Panthers. Suddenly, the entire offense isn’t on Lawrence’s shoulders.
The Bengals had 7 yards in the second half Sunday. Cincinnati won, which is rare for the Bengals in September under head coach Zac Taylor, but the same early-season lethargy was there. Cincinnati got very lucky to win. But it’s better than losing, like it did in last season’s opener vs. New England.
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George Kittle and Jauan Jennings left Sunday’s game with injuries. The 49ers got a good, tough win at Seattle. But it might be a grind for them — especially if Brock Purdy is out for some time — until they can get fully healthy, if that happens at all this season.
Nate Landman is already a fan favorite after one game. The linebacker had 10 tackles and a massive forced fumble in the final two minutes to seal the win. The Rams got Landman on a one-year, $1.1 million deal, which might end up being the best value in the NFL this season.
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Deebo Samuel looked like he did in his prime 49ers years. He had seven catches for 77 yards and also scored on a 19-yard run. The Commanders need playmakers other than Terry McLaurin, and Samuel helps. So might rookie Jacory “Bill” Croskey-Merritt, who had 82 rushing yards and a touchdown.
The Buccaneers got outplayed in Week 1. But when Baker Mayfield had to make a play, he delivered a great touchdown pass to rookie Emeka Egbuka. Tampa Bay will have to play better, but it’s 1-0 while the rest of the NFC South is 0-1.
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Bo Nix got bailed out by his defense. Nix was careless and sloppy with three turnovers. Denver’s defense was so good, and Tennessee is so bad, that it didn’t matter. That gave Nix a pass for a rough outing. He should be better going forward.
Many quarterbacks would have folded in their first start if they played like J.J. McCarthy did in the first three quarters. McCarthy stayed in the fight and had two passing touchdowns and a rushing score in the fourth quarter of a comeback win. That was telling.
Week 2 is never a must-win in the NFL. But Eagles at Chiefs feels pretty big for Kansas City. There’s the Super Bowl revenge angle. Mostly, starting 0-2 with some tough games coming up and some injury concerns wouldn’t be ideal. There will be urgency for the Chiefs in September, which is rare.
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Justin Herbert looked like a legitimate MVP candidate. Keenan Allen was a smart addition late in the offseason. Beating the Chiefs was a great way to start the season. L.A. was a big winner in Week 1.
The biggest concern for the Lions is the way their offensive line played. Center Frank Ragnow’s retirement might be a big problem. The Lions couldn’t block anyone. That seems unlikely to repeat, but if anything completely derails Detroit this season, it would be the O-line.
When the Ravens have to travel to Buffalo in January, it will be because they blew that game Sunday night. The good news for Baltimore is its offense showed how good it can be through three quarters. The big challenge will be not letting that devastating loss linger for a few weeks.
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No team looked more complete against a quality opponent in Week 1. The Packers’ defense made the Lions look bad, and that’s with Micah Parsons playing limited snaps. The Packers’ offense was an efficient machine. Is this the best team in the NFL?
The comeback was incredible. The win over the Ravens will be huge in the AFC playoff picture. But the Bills’ defense didn’t have a good day, allowing 40 points and 8.6 yards per play. Presumably, that won’t be an issue going forward, but it’s worth keeping an eye on.
Re-signing Zack Baun was a priority this offseason. Smart move. Baun, an All-Pro last season, had a big game that included running down Miles Sanders on a long run, saving a TD. Sanders fumbled later in that drive, the biggest turning point in the Eagles’ win. Baun’s great story continues.
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