Week 1 Power Rankings Roundup: Clean Sweep for Chiefs Entering 2024

Coming off their second Super Bowl in a row, where do the Kansas City Chiefs rank among their NFL peers?

According to major power rankings, there is no true peer for Andy Reid's team entering the regular season. Let's take a look at different outlets' lists and their outlooks on Kansas City as Thursday's game against the Baltimore Ravens approaches.

The 33rd Team: 1

To kick off the clean sweep for the Chiefs, this set of power rankings believes an available Patrick Mahomes keeps the defending champs atop the football hierarchy.

As long as Patrick Mahomes is healthy, it will be a while before anyone overtakes the Kansas City Chiefs at the No. 1 spot. The offense should be much more dynamic this year, and the fact that Rashee Rice is likely to play the entire 2024 season will make it nearly impossible to stop them. - Marcus Mosher

Bleacher Report: 1

Putting Kansas City ahead of the Detroit Lions to begin the season, the Bleacher Report weekly analyst trio thinks Mahomes and Co. have earned their placement even with future Hall of Fame quarterback Tom Brady citing the improbability of three-peating.

Frankly, the odds are against Kansas City pulling it off, as loaded with talent as they are. As Brady said, there's a reason no team has won three Super Bowls in a row with 58 in the books. But until someone knocks them from the mountaintop, we can't rank any other team No. 1. - BR NFL Staff

Sports Illustrated: 1

Dating back to the departure of Tyreek Hill via trade, Kansas City has routinely found ways to reinvent the wheel and adjust on the fly. There was no greater example of that than last season, which is highlighted in Sports Illustrated's first regular-season power rankings list.

Anyway, the season begins the way it ended. This may sound like a failure in analysis but the Kansas City Chiefs are still the best team in football and have adapted well to the Patriot Shuffle, which is a term I use for teams that have to undergo a constant, surgical revision to evolve alongside their quarterback. At this moment we don’t know what the re-signing of Juju Smith-Schuster means and whether it has any corollary to an impending Rashee Rice suspension. This matters in a universal sense but not in a week-to-week sense, where Patrick Mahomes is still the ultimate sledgehammer who trumps an otherwise talent disadvantage. - Conor Orr

NFL: 1

Trailing the Chiefs in the NFL.com power rankings for this week are the San Francisco 49ers and Baltimore Ravens. The article states that while Kansas City "might have to veer slightly from last year's road" in order to reach the pinnacle of sports again, there's a reason they are favored to do it.

The 2023 Chiefs never really caught their stride in the regular season and went just 5-4 at Arrowhead Stadium during that span, ultimately putting them at a disadvantage in the playoffs. The 2024 Chiefs shouldn't count on Mahomes to go out barnstorming postseason opponents on the road every single week like Alexander The Great. Instead, they'll be well-served protecting home field a little more diligently -- and inherently, making a stronger push for home-field advantage -- in the race for three straight. - Eric Edholm

The Athletic: 1

The Athletic has the Chiefs carrying their end-of-season momentum into the 2024, especially with a new-look offense ready to take off despite Marquise "Hollywood" Brown missing Week 1.

Mahomes is throwing behind-the-back passes in preseason games, Kansas City locked up its star center and Xavier Worthy is bringing the afterburners back to the offense. The defending champs are starting the season the way they ended the last one — on a high note. Even the off-field momentum is peaking. Tight end and Taylor Swift boyfriend Travis Kelce just signed a mega podcast deal with his brother Jason. A Week 1 visit from the Ravens will provide a fun showcase, but even a loss wouldn’t kill the mood. Everything about this team is pointed toward January and February. - Josh Kendall

FOX Sports: 1

Echoing the sentiment of many others, FOX Sports has Reid's team competing for its third championship in a row despite history arguing that it's too difficult.

What do we really need to say? The reigning champs went out and added some legit firepower to their offense. They might be better than the 2022 and 2023 Chiefs — and those two teams won the Super Bowl. This sounds crazy, but if I had to pick a Chiefs three-peat or the field, I'm rolling with Kansas City. - David Helman

CBS Sports: 1

A surprise team slots in below the Chiefs in this particular set of power rankings: the Green Bay Packers. No other opponent – regardless of conference – has proven to be worthy of taking the top spot yet, though.

They will earn the top seed in the AFC, based on a so-so division, but the AFC is loaded so it won't be easy getting to the Super Bowl. The added speed outside will make them even tougher to defend. - Pete Prisco