01-07-2019, 04:11 AM
Pundit power rankings for Week 4: Chiefs break the top three The national pundits continue to push the Kansas City Chiefs higher in their weekly power rankings http://www.kansascitychiefsteamonline.co...rtz-jersey , almost unanimously ranking them second — and one ranking even put the Chiefs first!The Chiefs now hold the second spot in our aggregated power rankings — tops in the AFC, and well in front of the other AFC West teams.Pundit Power Rankings for Week 4Chiefs AFC West Teams Other AFC TeamsHere's what the pundits had to say about the Chiefs this week:ESPN (2nd from 3rd)NFL.com (Elliot Harrison - 2nd from 4th)SBNation (Rebecca Toback - 2nd from 3rd)Sporting News (Vinnie Iyer - 2nd from 3rd)Yahoo! Sports (Frank Schwab - 2nd from 4th)CBS Sports (Pete Prisco - 2nd from 3rd)This week, the pundits were almost unanimous about the first two teams, ranking the Los Angeles Rams first and the Chiefs second.But the MMQB staff flipped those two teams in their rankings, ranking the Chiefs first!The writers gave the Miami Dolphins the biggest boost of the week.The Dolphins moved up 10 spots in our aggregated rankings; the pundits moved them between six and fourteen spots up.As a group, the pundits also liked what they saw in the Detroit Lions’ first win of the season against the New England Patriots — pushing them up eight places — and moved the Carolina Panthers and New Orleans Saints into the Top 10.Even though the San Francisco 49ers expressed confidence in backup quarterback C.J. Beathard after starter Jimmy Garoppolo was lost for the season during their defeat at the hands of the Chiefs, the scribes weren’t buying it.They dropped the 49ers nine spots, which was the biggest drop of the week.The writers also weren’t impressed with what they saw from the Denver Broncos and Dallas Cowboys, dropping both teams six spots in the aggregated rankings.The Chiefs go back on the road Monday night to face the Broncos in a big divisional game.Can the Chiefs extend their record to 4-0 — and if they do, what will the pundits think of it?We’ll find out next Tuesday.On Wednesday, Arrowhead Pride will once again combine what the pundits told us today with what the number-crunchers say after this past weekend’s games to give you True Power Rankings!And starting next Tuesday, we’ll change things up a little.We’ll add power rankings from USA Today to the mix of pundit rankings we track, and provide live updates as each set of power rankings comes in! The Baltimore Ravens are still fighting to end a three-year playoff drought even though they are riding their longest winning streak of the season.The Ravens hold a one-game lead for the sixth and final postseason spot in the AFC. Baltimore (7-5) also is within a half-game of the first-place Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC North after the Ravens' 26-16 victory over the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday.It was their third in a row behind rookie quarterback Lamar Jackson. He has emerged as a playmaker since taking over for Joe Flacco http://www.kansascitychiefsteamonline.co...ley-jersey , who is battling a hip injury.Baltimore faces its toughest test of the season this week when the Ravens take on the high-powered Kansas City Chiefs.Flacco still has to be cleared by doctors to potentially play in that game. In the meantime, Jackson has shown that he can effectively lead the Ravens offense."He's getting better," Ravens coach John Harbaugh said or Jackson during the coach's Monday news conference. "Football is like that, especially with that position. You do it practice and that's one thing, but there's nothing like the game. The game is where you learn the lessons kind of the hard way."He made a few mistakes that are well-documented. He'll learn from it just like the week before."The Ravens have run for more than 200 yards in each of the last three games. The emergence of Gus Edwards, an undrafted rookie from Rutgers, has coincided with that success. He had two consecutive 100-yard performances before finishing with 82 yards on 21 carries against the Falcons.Edwards has taken over the starting job for Alex Collins, who was placed on IR with an injured foot.The Ravens have been able to dominate time of possession with the revamped running attack, keeping opposing offenses off the field. That strategy will be especially vital this week against Chiefs and quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who has thrown for 3,923 yards with a staggering 41 touchdowns."I feel like we're controlling the clock, keeping our defense off the field, keeping them fresh Authentic Tyreek Hill Jersey , and taking the air out of their pass rush," offensive lineman Marshal Yanda said "That's a big deal."The running game has also helped the Ravens defenders stay fresh late in the game. Baltimore has converted a pair turnovers into touchdowns the last two weeks and is ranked No. 1 for overall defense."We really don't care what people say outside," linebacker C.J. Mosley said. "We have a standard as a Ravens defense, whether we're home, away or at a neutral site, on how we want to play football, and that's always been being physical at the point of attack, stopping the run and getting after the quarterback on third down."The Ravens have bounced back from a three-game losing streak heading into their bye. That skid prompted questions about the future of Harbaugh with the franchise.Now, Baltimore can control its destiny to end the playoff drought and quiet the critics.Harbaugh is proud of the way his players responded to the adversity."I think we have a lot of leaders and guys that have been through a lot," Harbaugh said. "Our guys have been through a lot of challenges and that's usually the best way of learning how to deal with adversity. I think they have done a good job."