2017 NFL Power Rankings: Week 16
Teams Ranked 22nd to 13th
Slump? What slump?
With Alex Smith moving the ball efficiently through the air and Kareem Hunt breaking off big runs in Saturday’s win over the Chargers, the Chiefs looked more like the team that started the year 5-0 than the one that lost six of the next seven games.
| Rank | Team | nERD | Rec | Playoff Odds | Off. NEP Rank | Defense | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | -3.91 | 4-10 | 0.0% | 16 | 27 | +1 |
| 21 | Dallas Cowboys | -3.18 | 8-6 | 5.6% | 12 | 30 | 0 |
| 20 | Arizona Cardinals | -3.13 | 6-8 | 0.0% | 29 | 7 | 0 |
| 19 | Houston Texans | -2.82 | 4-10 | 0.0% | 17 | 22 | -2 |
| 18 | Denver Broncos | -2.19 | 5-9 | 0.0% | 32 | 3 | +1 |
| 17 | Chicago Bears | -2.06 | 4-10 | 0.0% | 27 | 9 | +1 |
| 16 | Detroit Lions | -1.12 | 8-6 | 14.0% | 18 | 17 | 0 |
| 15 | Green Bay Packers | -0.58 | 7-7 | 0.0% | 11 | 24 | -1 |
| 14 | Washington Redskins | 1.06 | 6-8 | 0.0% | 19 | 11 | -1 |
| 13 | Kansas City Chiefs | 1.47 | 8-6 | 94.4% | 6 | 25 | +2 |
Kansas City’s 30-13 victory was actually the team’s second straight double-digit win, but an 11-point win over the Raiders in Week 14 did not exactly get people’s hearts racing.
On Saturday, though, the Chiefs smacked around the team that came into the weekend ranked fourth by our model, out-gaining the Chargers by 90 yards and 1.2 yards per play. They also forced four turnovers.
The performance continued a season that has taken a series of drastic twists and turns, and turnovers forced is one of the big reasons for that.
During the first five weeks of the season, the Chiefs' defense was tied for seventh in turnovers forced, but then only two teams had fewer takeaways between Weeks 6 and 13. This has swung back in the other direction recently, as only one team (Detroit) has forced more turnovers over the last two weeks than KC has.
Turnovers are incredibly important but also incredibly random events, and the Chiefs are the latest team that illustrates this point.
Their offensive seesaw appears more complicated than mere turnover regression, but Kansas City's recent upswing on that side of the ball has played an equally big role in their turnaround.
