AFC West: Football’s Most Competitive Division
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The Chiefs kept the Raiders’ high flying offense in check in week 6, demonstrating their prowess in the division.
We’ve officially passed midseason in the NFL, and among the league’s eight divisions, the AFC West is far and away the most competitive. Only a handful of teams appear to have a real shot at the Super Bowl. For yet another year the New England Patriots seem destined for the Vince Lombardi Trophy. But the real story comes in the AFC West, where the Raiders, Chiefs, and Broncos are all vying for the number one spot in the division. Whoever comes out on top is likely to secure the 2nd seed in the conference. With the Raiders coming out strong after a solid finish at the tail end of 2015, the Chiefs continuing a juggernaut streak at home, and the Broncos defense giving everybody the fits this year, it’s shaping up to be a suspenseful conclusion to the regular season. And across the nation, fans and pundits alike find themselves wondering how the West will be won.
Currently the Raiders stand at 7-2, having won all five of their road games thus far. While the Chiefs, 6-2, have won all four at home, and 16 of their last 18 in Kansas City. That old magic has clearly returned to Arrowhead Stadium, with no signs of it dwindling any time soon. After an overtime win over the Chargers in the season opener, and a controlling victory over the Raiders in week six, the Chiefs have a spotless division record. In third, after a wallop from Oakland last week, the Broncos stand at 6-3. The San Diego Chargers tie up the bow with a decent 4-5 record. While not a playoff contender, they’re certainly staying competitive. As it stands, the AFC West is the only division in the NFL in which all four of its teams are outscoring their opponents. Plus, the West’s cumulative record of 23-12 is 16 percentage points better than the second-best NFC East. That’s quite a margin. With such a competitive bunch of teams, it’s worth looking at the three title contenders individually.
For the sake of forgoing bias, I’ll start with the Oakland Raiders. It’s been a rough 13 years of irrelevancy for the silver and black. Now, without so much as a warning, they’ve emerged from the woodwork with a point to make. So what exactly has stoked the fire in Oakland? Well, it begins on offense. Currently, the Raiders have the fifth-ranked offense in the league with an average of 401.1 yards per game, as well as an average of 27.2 PPG. Quarterback Derek Carr is looking like an MVP candidate right now with 17 touchdowns and a 99.1 QB rating. Plus, he’s playing far more efficiently than last year, throwing 3 interceptions through eight games (he threw 13 in 2015). With wideouts Michael Crabtree and Amari Cooper, it’s no wonder his numbers look so strong. Both receivers have the potential for game-breaking plays, offering Carr fantastic targets when the game is on the line. But it’s Oakland’s defense that makes them such a threat. In the past four games, they’ve given up progressively fewer yards each week, with an aggressive pass rush. Linebacker Khalil Mack has recorded sacks in each of those games, with two sacks in each of the last two games. With Mario Edwards set to come off Injured Reserve, that front line should continue to give offenses fits well into the playoffs. Down the stretch the Raiders have a string of difficult matchups, so their real test will come in the final six games.
In third place, the Denver Broncos still find themselves in the hunt, despite a terribly inexperienced quarterback. Through nine games Trevor Siemian has thrown 10 touchdowns and five interceptions. Nothing special. But it’s not their offense that has them in contention. Linebacker Von Miller heads up a ferocious defense with 9.5 sacks. Currently, they have the no. 1 pass defense in the league, as well as the second most sacks. Having already faced some of the league’s best quarterbacks, they’ve demonstrated time and again their defensive prowess. Based on their defense alone, they’ve remained in contention. Regardless of their lackluster offense, Denver might still manage to squeak out a wildcard spot.
And then there’s the Kansas City Chiefs. Of all the teams in the division, the Chiefs are far and away the most complete team. They’re able to win games on both sides of the ball, even when the other struggles.
Kansas City backup QB Nick Foles throws a 23 yard strike to Albert Wilson for a crucial touchdown in a win over the Jacksonville Jaguars in week nine.
Defensively, they have one of the best secondaries in the league with Eric Berry and Marcus Peters, who’s currently tied for a league-leading five interceptions. Meanwhile, there’s a leading pass rusher whose name isn’t Justin Houston. It’s linebacker Dee Ford, a three-year vet, whose nine sacks have helped the Chiefs apply continual pressure to opposing team’s pass and backfield. This might be the biggest story of the year for Kansas City. With perennial all-star Justin Houston on the PUP, Dee Ford has stepped into the spotlight as one of the team’s top defenders. He’s practically come out of nowhere after posting five total sacks in his first two NFL seasons.In 2016, he’s more than doubled that. In the past two weeks, he’s recorded 5.5 sacks. After last week’s defensively-charged win over the Jaguars, teammate and linebacker Derrick Johnson called Ford “one of the best rushers in the league.”Have you ever seen lightning strike a swimming pool? Now picture that with a Dee Ford jersey on. Watching him blitz this season, you have to feel sorry for the linemen guarding him. They don’t stand a chance the way he’s turning the corner. With Houston, who led the NFL with 22 sacks in 2014—a half sack shy of the league record—returning next week against the Panthers, it’s difficult to imagine things getting any easier for opposing quarterbacks. For all intents and purposes, the Chiefs are about to have one of the most powerful pass rushes in the league, if not the most.
In Carolina next week, KC will face a real test from Cam Newton and his high-powered offense. But if they win, they jump to the top spot in the AFC West. From there it’s just a matter of keeping the magic going. With Alex Smith returning from a concussion, expect the offense to make up for their weak performance in week nine against Jacksonville. More importantly, expect Kansas City and Carolina to be one of the week’s hottest matchups, and the Chiefs to make a high-seed playoff appearance come January.
As the regular season cools down, the AFC West will only heat up. The Chiefs and Broncos still have two face-offs to come, including a game at Arrowhead on Christmas Day. On December 8th, the Raiders will travel to Kansas City for a crucial Thursday night game that could make or break the whole race. A recent ESPN poll saw a majority of voters predicting the Chiefs to take the West title. With a handful of veterans on both sides of the ball, I would have to agree with the poll results. As long as the Chiefs keep up their turnover ratio, they’ve got a legitimate chance to win not only at the division title, but the conference title. They have one of the few defenses in the league capable of keeping Tom Brady in check. And their dominance at home gives them a real shot at another ten plus win season.
This Sunday marks week ten in the NFL. With seven games left this year, the stakes will only get higher. And the race for the Lamar Hunt trophy is sure to offer fans an exciting finish to the 2016 regular season, especially in the AFC West. Before the year began, who expected the Raiders to emerge as contenders? Not this writer. Nor for that matter did I expect the Broncos, whose offense lacked a viable quarterback, to be in the race at midseason. But here we are, smack dab in the middle of the AFC West’s most competitive division race in a decade. So there’s no telling what to expect as we hit the final stretch, except—of course—a fiery race to the finish. On the other hand, for fans who may also be interested with other sports, they can check out platforms which may offer items like that arrow quiver.
