It was another eventful week in the AFC West, with all four teams back in action, including a divisional matchup that carried significant implications for the standings. As the race for division supremacy continues, every win and loss adds another layer to the picture. Some teams are building momentum, while others are giving us more reasons to question where they stand.
With the season moving forward, it’s time to reassess how the division stacks up. Let’s take a closer look at the latest results and how they impacted our AFC West power rankings.
4. Los Angeles Chargers
Trending: Down
Fire everyone. The Chargers might be the worst team in the league this year. Sure, injuries play a part, but plenty of coaches are doing more with less. Take the most recent loss to the Chiefs as an example. Los Angeles looked even more hapless against Kansas City than the Miami Dolphins did earlier in the year. At this point, the blame lies solely with the coaching staff.
Offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel has fundamentally broken this offense, and coach Jim Harbaugh isn’t helping. Some may argue that quarterback Justin Herbert has slowly fallen off over the last couple of years. Yet a mountain of evidence suggests he is still a very good quarterback who has been hindered by the way Harbaugh wants him to play. The Chargers need to bring in a coach who will unleash their franchise quarterback rather than try to channel him through a specific style of play.
Los Angeles is not the only team struggling to get the most out of its quarterback, however. Next up is another team that faces a similar problem.
3. Denver Broncos
Trending: Steady
The Broncos have won two in a row and just beat the defending Super Bowl champion Seahawks. Surely they should be moving up, right? Well, the eye test tells a different story. In a hideous Thursday night game, Denver mustered fewer than 200 yards of total offense, and a big part of that was Bo Nix throwing for just 107 yards. The Broncos won only because Sam Darnold literally threw the game away.
Coach Sean Payton has to figure out a way to get Nix going. At this point, it is hard to believe this is the same quarterback who played with a gunslinger mentality as a 19-year-old at Auburn. Physically, there does not seem to be any reason the third-year quarterback cannot get back to a similar style of play. For Christ’s sake, he’s only 26. Nevertheless, as long as Nix continues to play like he’s 40, Denver is in for a long season.
Of course, not every 40-year-old quarterback is struggling. Speaking of which…
Related: Raiders’ latest loss exposes 3 roster problems they can’t ignore
2. The Las Vegas Raiders
Trending: Steady
At 38, Kirk Cousins can still play some good football. He kept the Raiders in the mix in a shootout with Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills. Unfortunately, that type of game was always going to be a losing proposition for Las Vegas. The Raiders simply do not have the talent to keep up with a team like that, especially at quarterback. Worse, shootouts are the only way the Silver and Black can really play right now, because their defense is pretty rough.
The game was another good barometer for the Raiders. Things are clearly headed in the right direction, but they have a long way to go. The young defense is showing a lot of promise, but it remains far too dependent on turnovers. Offensively, the line play is significantly better, but the group is far from dominant, especially in the run game. For now, the Raiders remain one of those “fun and frisky” teams that will probably win eight to 10 games this year.
On the other end of the spectrum, the top of the rankings looks much the same as it did a week ago. Finally, we will continue with chalk at the top…
1. Kansas City Chiefs
Trending: Steady
We did not learn anything new about the Chiefs coming off their bye, mostly because they did not have to show anything new to get the job done. As touched on earlier, the Chargers just kind of bent over and took it. That said, Kansas City looks like the real deal.
The biggest reason is the ground game. Running back Kenneth Walker continues to be a revelation for this offense, and it is easy to forget how good coach Andy Reid’s offenses can look when the run game is humming. Just because quarterback Patrick Mahomes can play hero ball does not mean that is what Reid wants to do. Now Kansas City can save the Mahomes magic as a last resort, though it might come to that this week against a stingy Seattle defense.
*Top Photo: Ramble Illustration/Getty Images