After defeating the Broncos in week eight of the regular season, it seemed apparent that the AFC West was basically locked up. Since then, however, the Kansas City Chiefs have epically collapsed.
With the collapse comes the obvious question: Who will win the AFC West? It was the Kansas City Chiefs‘ division to lose, and they’ve done just that in the past month and a half.
While the Chiefs currently hold the top spot still due to their divisional record, they have the same record as both the Chargers and the Raiders. All three teams sit at 6-6 and out of the three, the Los Angeles Chargers look head and shoulders above the rest of the West.
The Chiefs and Raiders have similar issues: Neither defense can stop the opposition from moving the football. The Raiders just got their first interception of the season two weeks ago while the Chiefs have struggled to pick the ball off recently.
All three of these teams had a four-game losing streak at one point.
The Chargers are the hot team right now. They started the season off 0-4, but have one 6-2 since then. The Chiefs beat the Chargers in week three, but it wasn’t a convincing win until Kareem Hunt took the ball down the field for a long score. That was the last time Hunt has found the end zone.
Kansas City still controls their own destiny. If they win out, the AFC West is theirs. With their next two games coming against the Raiders and Chargers, this is put up or shut up time. If the Chiefs lose those games, their season will be over at the end of the calendar year.
The Chiefs certainly have a manageable schedule to win out, but we’ve all been saying that since the bye week. Kansas City will host three straight games (against the Raiders, Chargers, and Dolphins) and will head to Denver for their final game of the year.
The Chargers also have a favorable schedule, hosting the Redskins, traveling to Kansas City, traveling to the Jets turf, and hosting the Raiders. Oakland has the most difficult slate, including a road trip to Kansas City, hosting the Cowboys, traveling to Philadelphia, and then heading to Los Angeles for their final game.
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More than likely, whoever wins the Chiefs/Chargers game in week 15 will win the AFC West. Don’t forget, however, that all three of these teams had a four-game losing streak at one point. The Chiefs’ just happens to be in the now, so it’s fresh in all of our minds, but the Chargers started off 0-4 and the Raiders were 2-4 at one point after a hot start to the season.
My point being that while yes, the Kansas City Chiefs look horrendous as of lately, their AFC West foes have had similar rough patches. This could mean that the Chiefs are about to go on a run of their own or it could mean that the winner of the AFC West is 8-8 or 9-7.
In years past, we’ve seen some bad divisions. The AFC South has been that laughable division over the last few years, but the Titans and Jaguars are doing work right now. Houston would also be at or near the top had injuries not decimated their team.
A few years ago, the NFC South had a 7-9 team win the division and host/win a playoff game. Not long before that, the Seahawks at 7-9 hosted a playoff game and won. Divisions can be weak, but no one expected the AFC West to be the worst division in football after three teams finished above .500 last year and including two 12-4 teams.
At the end of the day, someone has to win the AFC West and sit in that (likely) four-seed in the AFC playoffs. While Chiefs fans aren’t the most optimistic right now, this division is still in play for Kansas City. Someone has to win it and it very well could be the Chiefs.