2021 NFL Power Rankings: Kansas City Chiefs

Throughout the 2021 NFL season, we will compile a consensus NFL Power Rankings that averages the rankings of all 32 NFL teams.

Here is where the Kansas City Chiefs rank in terms of average, best and worst:

Average ranking: 2 (2nd)
Best ranking: 2 (Multiple)
Worst ranking: 2 (Multiple)

Below you will find a Week 16 roundup for the Chiefs in our consensus 2021 NFL Power Rankings.

ESPN -- Rank: 2

How hot is Andy Reid's seat: 1. Cold seat

The Chiefs are on the verge of winning their sixth straight AFC West crown, and they control their own destiny toward winning the AFC's top playoff seed. So they're going to fire Reid? Not a chance. Remember that in the five seasons before his arrival, the Chiefs had two two-win seasons and two other campaigns with four wins each; at 10-4, they're on track to win more than those 12 games this season alone. -- Adam Teicher

NFL.com -- Rank: 2

Travis Kelce* has rarely performed like a dominant force this season, so consider the veteran's sudden re-emergence as a game-wrecker an early Christmas present for the Chiefs and their fans. Kelce lit up the Chargers for a career-high 191 yards and two touchdowns on 10 catches, including the game-winning 34-yard gallop to the end zone in overtime on Thursday night. The dramatic victory moved Kansas City one step closer to its sixth consecutive AFC West title and offered more evidence the mostly dormant offense woke up just in time. Said Patrick Mahomes of his trusty tight end: "You think he's old. He can't run by people. But he's still running by people. And he got in the end zone."

CBS Sports -- Rank: 2

They have ripped off five consecutive victories to put that early-season play well behind them. The defense has been outstanding.

USA Today -- Rank: 2

Kansas City is the fifth team in league history to win at least 10 games in seven consecutive seasons. The Chiefs also control their fate as they seek the No. 1 seed for the third time since 2018 ... though the latest rash of COVID issues, which snared TE Travis Kelce and WR Tyreek Hill this week, doesn't help.

The Athletic -- Rank: 2

Our gift to you: A third weapon for Patrick Mahomes. Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill have continued to turn in monster performances during the Chiefs' seven-game win streak, but now both are on the reserve/COVID-19 list. Last year's Super Bowl also tells us what can happen when an elite defense brings front-four pressure while hovering over those two dynamic receivers. Let's hand Kansas City an Antonio Brown-type No. 3, only with fewer headaches.

Previous updates:

More Kansas City Chiefs pages: