Where do Chiefs stand in NFL power rankings ahead of Week 16?

How big a weapon has RB Jerick McKinnon become? Only TE Travis Kelce has scored more TDs (12) than McKinnon’s half-dozen for the AFC West champs in 2022

Kansas City got caught playing with their food a bit in Houston, but don’t let that fool you into thinking the Chiefs aren’t still one of the league’s juggernauts. Patrick Mahomes is still making alien-like throws weekly and should be the overwhelming favorite to win league MVP—even without an injury to Hurts. He is the top-ranked signal-caller in expected points added per dropback, and the Chiefs offense is still nearly two times as efficient as every other offense in the NFL.

How much cause for concern should there be that Patrick Mahomes could complete 36 of 41 pass attempts for the best completion percentage of his career (87.8 percent) in a game he started and finished, and yet it still took Kansas City overtime to beat the lowly Texans? By DVOA (defense-adjusted value over average), the Chiefs might wind up having the worst defense in the playoffs. They rank 24th in defensive DVOA, with only Seattle, Jacksonville and the Giants ranked lower among potential playoff teams. And yet Mahomes and company could still earn the AFC’s No. 1 seed if they take care of business against a weak end-of-season schedule and the Bills lose one. Austin Mock projects the Chiefs with a 37.3 percent chance of earning the coveted first-round bye.

The Chiefs continue to stack wins against lesser opponents, but their sloppiness with the football is an issue to keep an eye on. Kansas City coughed up two fumbles — the team is now up to 10 lost fumbles on the season — and the Chiefs needed overtime to turn away the 1-12-1 Texans on Sunday. Kansas City will enter Week 16 with a minus-6 turnover differential, a puzzling data point for an 11-3 Super Bowl contender. Like the Bills, the Chiefs sometimes feel like a superpower just grinding their way through the season ahead of the true test to come in January. Playing loose with the football is dangerous business, but K.C.’s ability to hit the accelerator when necessary is an uncommon gift.

The Kansas City Chiefs are champions of the AFC West—again.

The Chiefs certainly didn’t play their best game of the season Sunday. They needed overtime to get past a one-win Texans team. But when running back Jerick McKinnon crossed the goal line, it secured a seventh straight division title for the Chiefs.

McKinnon has become a valuable member of the Chiefs’ offense. He plays on passing downs because he’s the team’s most trusted pass-protector and is accomplished as a receiver. He is third on the team in pass receptions with 46 and tied for second with six touchdowns. 

If either Isiah Pacheco or Kadarius Toney took off for the Chiefs, we’d be looking at an obvious Super Bowl favorite. While Pacheco has logged workhorse numbers since Nov. 15, he’s also lost a pair of fumbles, so one wonders whether Andy Reid may get scared to deploy him regularly in do-or-die games.

They’ve had two games where they haven’t looked great in winning against two bad teams on the road. They have to be better than that.

They’re hoping for one Buffalo loss to have a shot at the No. 1 seed.