Where do Chiefs stand in NFL power rankings ahead of Week 14?

Once again, they hit the Cincinnati speed bump hard. But the ride to postseason looks awfully smooth from there, with trips to Denver and Houston the next two weeks – when Andy Reid will become the third coach to reach double-digit wins in eight consecutive regular seasons.

As long as Patrick Mahomes is healthy and starting, the Chiefs are in the elite tier of teams in the NFL. The Bengals (shout-out Big Lou Anarumo) have the Chiefs’ number, but Mahomes is still the best quarterback in the league, and Kansas City’s offense is still the best in the league. This loss to the Bengals doesn’t dramatically impact their ranking here. If there’s reason for doubt, it’s on the defensive side of the ball. Kansas City enters Week 14 ranked 20th in points allowed per game and 26th in defensive success rate.

In their three successive losses to the Bengals, including last season’s AFC Championship Game, the Chiefs have mystifyingly scored a combined six fourth-quarter points. Travis Kelce’s costly fumble and Harrison Butker’s missed 55-yard field goal attempt came back to bite the Chiefs, but there’s also probably a sense in Kansas City that Joe Burrow would have found a way to lead a game-winning drive at the end if he needed to.

Still, the Chiefs are in good position. They have the league’s best offense by a significant margin and their schedule down the stretch includes just one team with a winning record (Seattle in Week 16). The Bills hold the tiebreaker for the AFC’s top seed — and Mock’s model gives Buffalo a 46.7 to 40.6 percent edge in the race for the No. 1 seed — but their schedule features three teams with a winning record, including the Bengals in Week 17. That’s good news for Kansas City, as long as it can avoid the Bengals come January.

The Chiefs’ hopes of landing the No. 1 seed in the AFC took a major hit Sunday with their 27-24 loss to the Bengals, the one team in the conference that appears to have Kansas City’s number. That’s three straight losses to Joe Burrow and Co. in the past calendar year; all taut, one-score affairs that ended with Cincy making the type of crunch-time money play that Kansas City has been known for during its extended run of greatness. With a favorable schedule, the Chiefs can still right the ship and nab the top seed and bye that comes with it … but you wonder if some doubt has crept in when it comes to the team from Cincinnati.

Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs have to be well and truly tired of seeing Joe Burrow and the Bengals. Three times since last season the teams have met—including in last year’s AFC Championship Game.

All three times, the Bengals emerged with a victory.

Kansas City had its chances in this one, including a lead for a chunk of the fourth quarter. But miscues and a missed field goal did it in. Mahomes told reporters that the Chiefs just can’t afford to make those kinds of mistakes against good teams.

The Chiefs remain No. 1 offensively with an average of 29.2 points per game. Their lead was built on the strength of three 40-plus point games in their first seven. Since then, the Chiefs have only topped their average once in five games, that being a 30-point performance in a win over the Chargers in Week 11. The Chiefs scored 17, 20 and 24 in their three losses.

It’s always wild to hear people say they have the secret to beating Patrick Mahomes. Sure, if you can drop eight players and effectively win with a three-man pass rush you’re going to have an easier time slowing him down. Not many teams can do that as artfully as the Bengals. Mahomes is still on the MVP crash course.

As long as they don’t play the Bengals, they are just fine. Cincinnati beat them three times in 2022, including last week. Don’t worry much about this group.

They still haven’t won in Cincinnati since Reagan’s first term.