A few weeks ago doing this NFL power

A few weeks ago doing this NFL power rankings post was a lot of fun because the KC Chiefs were unbeaten and we had strong arguments that they should be ranked No. 1.

After three consecutive losses, those days are gone.

The Chiefs are now 9-3, which is two games from the Seattle Seahawks, who now have the best record in the NFL. It's one game behind the Denver Broncos, who hold a one-game lead on the Chiefs and the head-to-head tiebreaker. The Chiefs have the same record as the New England Patriots, New Orleans Saints and Carolina Panthers.

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Do the Chiefs belong in that group of teams?

I have to say yes. The Chiefs have played one of the NFL's best teams twice -- they lost by 10 in Denver and by seven in Kansas City. They can compete with the Denvers of the world. Maybe they can only beat the Broncos 1 out of 25 times on the road ... but there's still that one!

The Chiefs feel a lot like the Panthers to me. Very good team, excellent defense and an offense that is usually good enough. No one really expected them to play so well this year. The Chiefs got a lot of attention by winning their first nine games. The Panthers have won eight in a row after losing three of four to start the season. Pretty much the opposite of the Chiefs so far, right?

The Chiefs have shown long stretches of playing dominant defense and smaller flashes of playing well on offense, so they have the talent. It's just a matter of doing it consistently.

So, where should the Chiefs rank?