NFL Power Rankings: Chiefs, Broncos Only Undefeated Teams Remaining

Aug 24, 2013; Denver, CO, USA; Denver Broncos outside linebacker

(58) gets past St. Louis Rams guard

(66) during the game against the St. Louis Rams at Sports Authority Field . Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

SUPER BOWL CONTENDERS

4. San Francisco 49ers

Record: 4-2

Previous Ranking: 4

People may be sleeping on the 49ers, which is a weird thing to suggest considering they were in the Super Bowl last year.

Most of it may stem from the back-to-back performances against Seattle (in terrible weather) and Indianapolis (in not terrible weather) where the 49ers offense produced only 10 total points and turned the ball over seven times. Colin Kaepernick was the center of the problem, going just 26-for-55 for 227 yards, zero touchdowns (rushing or passing), four interceptions and two fumbles lost.

Since then the offense has been rolling, producing 101 points in their last three games. This has come from re-focusing on the running game, which makes sense given that the 49ers have next to nothing at wide receiver. The result has been a more efficient offense that has seen Kaepernick throw five touchdowns and one interception in only 67 pass attempts.

Fewer turnovers (four in three games) and a stout defense has got San Francisco playing the way they did last year.

It will be interesting is to see how San Francisco plays against New Orleans in week 11, their most difficult game since the Colts game a month ago.

3. New Orleans Saints

Record: 5-1

Previous Record: 3

Penalize the Saints for losing to New England, on the road, on a last second touchdown pass, on a day when the City of Boston had some king of weird mojo going on with late game heroics? No way.

What may hurt the Saints in the future is if Jimmy Graham is going to be out for an extended period of time. The Saints offense struggled all day because of New England’s ability to take Graham out of the game (before the injury). Assuming you have the personnel to do so, there is a blueprint out there to slow down the Saints attack. One may not even need the personnel if Graham is out.

Still, New Orleans was still seconds away from winning because of their vastly improved defense. While winning games will be made harder by the potential loss of Graham, they’re still a very good football team because of their defensive improvement.

Also, one could maybe argue that touchdown pass should not have been allowed:

Holding? Maybe?

2. Seattle Seahawks

Record: 5-1

Previous Ranking: 2

You know who Kansas City could be if the offense starts to function at a moderate rate? Seattle.

Seattle doesn’t do anything splashy, but they dominate on defense, are efficient of offense, and play a very solid special teams. They can be explosive when they need to be on offense and have a smart quarterback who can also make plays with his feet. They have one of the more dominate running backs in the league that helps them control the pace and tempo of the game.

Defensively they can create a pass rush with only four guys, and can rush the passer with multiple people. Their secondary is graded as the second best in the NFL by Pro Football Focus.

Seriously, this is what the Chiefs are aiming to be with the way their roster is currently set up. Talent at wide receiver and the need for improvement from a young offensive line is what separates them from being as good – if not better – than Seattle. But for a one-year roster overhaul one cannot complain with the job the Chiefs have done in trying to turn themselves into Seattle.

Oh, I forgot another similarity:

Seattle also has the second loudest stadium in the NFL.

1. Denver Broncos

Record: 6-0

Previous Ranking: 1

We are about to find out just how valuable Von Miller is as a player. Denver’s pass rush and pass defense has suffered without the All-Pro linebacker, who will be returning this week after being suspended for violating the NFL’s drug policy.

Some of the yardage problems Denver has is because two of every three plays opponents run are pass plays because Denver is almost always in the lead. Only Dallas has had more passes attempted against them than Denver, which is going to cater towards larger yardage totals. For perspective, opponents have attempted 60 more passes – ten per game – more than the Chiefs defense has faced.

The difference is the rate and other advanced statistics suggest Denver is not handling this very well, a flaw that is being covered up by their ridiculously good defense. Opponents are averaging 7.6 per pass attempt against the Broncos, according to Pro-Football-Reference’s version of the stat (includes sacks). Only the Bears have allowed more yards per pass attempt.

Football Outsiders ranked the Broncos defense 25th through the first five weeks of season (so doesn’t include Jacksonville game) in efficiency and 27th against the pass.

Keep in mind also that this is against essentially the same schedule the Chiefs have played through the first third of the season. These are all teams the Chiefs defense has shutdown.

This isn’t to say the Chiefs are better than the Broncos or that they’ll beat them, only that the Broncos have an issue that needs to be fixed. Miller could be that solution for the Broncos.