One of the biggest storylines prior to the 2017 season was how competitive the AFC West was going to be. As a result, it seemed tough for the Kansas City Chiefs to win their second consecutive division title.
All of that has been debunked for the most part, as the AFC West is underwhelming through the first half of the season. The Kansas City Chiefs lead the division at 6-2, despite losing a close game to the Raiders not long ago.
Here is how the rest of the division looks at the moment:
- Kansas City Chiefs: 6-2 (2-1)
- Denver Broncos: 3-4 (2-2)
- Los Angeles Chargers: 3-5 (2-2)
- Oakland Raiders: 3-5 (1-2)
Some people have made the argument that the Chiefs have already locked up the division after eight weeks of the season. A three-game lead over the second place team sure seems like that, but there’s still a lot of football left to be played.
With that said, however, do any of the other three teams in the AFC West scare you?
The Broncos have a horrendous situation at the quarterback spot, which Chiefs fans got to see for themselves this past Monday night. Their defense is great, yes, but it’s hard to win games when the offense turns the ball over four times (the fifth time came on special teams).
The Chargers honestly might be the second best team in the division. Their defense is decent and Philip Rivers is still able to make big plays. Los Angeles’ problem has been finishing out close games, an area that plagued them in both 2016 and so far this year.
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Last but not least is Oakland, who have vastly disappointed this season. They’re 3-5 on the year and haven’t even played teams like the Patriots or Eagles yet. The Raiders got shellacked by the Bills this past weekend and that game was never particularly close.
This week’s schedule will have the Chiefs play in Dallas, the Broncos will be in Philadelphia, the Raiders will travel to Miami, and the Chargers have a bye week. If the Chiefs can continue to just play even average football, they should have a great chance at locking up the division early on.
We should have known not to buy into the hype of divisions. Remember when everyone thought the NFC East would be the talk of the town? Or that the Seahawks for sure would win the NFC West?
The point being is that we truly won’t know how the divisions will look until the season gets to about the half way mark. Hell, the Patriots aren’t even the sure thing to win the AFC East and that’s usually one of the only guarantees we have each year in the NFL.
It truly has been a weird NFL season.