NFL Power Rankings Week 12: Everyone's chasing Patrick Mahomes' juggernaut Chiefs. Again

In the offseason, everyone thought the Chiefs were done for.

The general sentiment was about how “a retooling Kansas City’s reign would end” because the rest of the bumbling AFC West spent so much money to load up against them in the offseason.

About that.

As the Chiefs and a better-than-ever Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce now sit in a comfortable 8-2 as the top seed of the AFC: Don’t tell us skepticism of their continued prowess didn’t happen. We remember! Many intelligent football analysts, writers, and experts, who we all respect (which, cough cough, also features us) — bought into the hype of the Chiefs’ imminent demise, despite their ongoing rostering of the best player in football.

All this is to say we shouldn’t be surprised that the Chiefs sit at the top of the NFL again. While everyone else loaded up to finally take them off their mantel, Kansas City took a patient step back to retool on defense and fill the void of Hill’s absence, all because it thought — “Wait, we have Patrick Mahomes. This shouldn’t be hard. Duh!” It’s challenging to think of another team with an easier job of reloading in recent memory.

The only real question we should have about the rest of the 2022 season is: Who challenges the Chiefs? Who stops Mahomes, if anyone, from getting his second Super Bowl ring at age 27 (a great pace!)? We have a few ideas, but some of these contenders coming for the Big Red Machine better start stepping their game up before January.

Because Mahomes and the Chiefs look like a powerhouse. Again. And they’re already playing at a January level while their peers lag way behind.

Let’s break down the Week 12 edition of For The Win’s power rankings for the 2022 NFL season — including Mahomes’ titanic Chiefs — and perhaps come to a consensus about who has the best shot of unseating pro football’s red and gold king.