It was not a great Wildcard Weekend for teams in the AFC West, to say the least. Two separate contests presented two blowouts, as the Los Angeles Chargers and Denver Broncos both lost their respective duel by no less than 20 points each.
Jim Harbaugh and the Chargers took the field during the first playoff contest of the NFL’s 2024 campaign, falling victim to the Houston Texans with a 12-32 final score. Quarterback Justin Herbert tossed four interceptions and a touchdown, completing only 14 of his 32 pass attempts.
The Broncos didn’t have it much better; worse, in fact. After watching their division rivals from Los Angeles suffer a 20-point defeat, Denver upped the ante by walking away the losers of a 7-31 ball-game on Sunday. To make matters worse, their seven points came within the first three minutes of the contest, followed by a goose egg during the remaining 57 minutes.
With both AFC West teams walking away as losers this past weekend, the division’s playoff contingent has suddenly dropped from three teams to just one. Here are some initial reactions from each game.
A downright ugly Wildcard Weekend for the AFC West
Los Angeles Chargers 12, Houston Texans 32; new coach, same old Chargers
How many times have we seen this before?
Following an impressive regular season that yielded 11 wins and six losses, the Chargers were favorites heading into their Wildcard matchup. And, despite a strong start to the game that gave Los Angeles a 6-0 lead, the team completely imploded en route to an early playoff exit.
This time, in 12-32 score fashion.
Not only does this seem to happen over and over again, but it appears to have been that way for the greater part of the last two decades. It doesn’t seem to matter who the coach is, who is playing quarterback, or what the makeup of the rest of their roster looks like; everything keeps changing, except for the Chargers having a Jekyll and Hyde turn as they transition to the postseason.
To be fair, this was only the first year of the Jim Harbaugh era. Beyond that, the Texans played some really good football after flying under the radar throughout the regular season.
Maybe the issue is not the Chargers themselves, but our collective expectations of the AFC West club.
Denver Broncos 7, Buffalo Bills 31; Bo Nix Needs a lot of Help
It was a good run for Denver. Bo Nix and the Broncos surprised a lot of people this year by going 10-7 and making the playoffs. Unfortunately, once they got there, it quickly became clear that they were woefully outmatched.
Nix and company could not get much going against a solid Buffalo defense. On the other side, Denver’s defense, which has been an elite unit all year, could only do so much to slow down Josh Allen and the Bills.
More than anything, this game highlighted the difference between the two quarterbacks. Allen had a much better game despite going up against a significantly tougher defense. One may argue that the Bills have more offensive weapons, but not by much. Some may also mention that Nix is only a rookie, but due to his lengthy college career, he largely is what he is at this point.
Improving the rest of the offense is likely going to be a lot easier than getting Nix to start playing like an elite quarterback. That is not a slight; it is simply the reality of the situation.
It is not a bad situation to be in, either. The blueprint for Denver should be to surround Nix with a bevy of offensive weapons, similar to what the Eagles and 49ers have done for Jalen Hurts and Brock Purdy respectively. If the Broncos can do that, they could become a much tougher out in future playoff games as they are already set at quarterback.
*Top Photo: Dustin Bradford/Getty Images
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