The Kansas City Chiefs have won the AFC West the last two seasons, but the division could take a turn in a totally different direction next year.
It’s been nice having the Kansas City Chiefs as the top of the crop in the AFC West, but don’t get used to it, Chiefs fans. What used to prevent the Chiefs from winning the division was that the Denver Broncos were always the frontrunners in the AFC West. Obviously the Broncos have been bad this year, but don’t expect that to continue.
With how poorly the Broncos have played this year, head coach Vance Joseph could be fired. That’d put the Broncos in a position to hire someone like Bruce Arians or even a young up and coming coach. Denver will also probably look to add a quarterback through free agency rather than the draft (though I’m sure they’ll draft someone early on), which will make them an immediate contender in the AFC.
Broncos fans aren’t used to being irrelevant like they have been the past two seasons and with a general manager like John Elway, I’d be shocked to see them just sit back and not make big moves this offseason. Denver will go after the top quarterback on the free agent market and will draft to keep their defense up to speed.
Some big changes are coming to the AFC West.
If the Broncos were to sign someone like Kirk Cousins, they’d be a far superior team to what they were this year. Their biggest problem in 2017 was easily at the quarterback spot and while yes, the defense has faded a bit, having a viable quarterback is the only way for NFL teams to truly succeed.
As for the rest of the division, everyone thought that 2017 would be the year of the Oakland Raiders. Flashback to any preseason predictions article and the Raiders were probably most people’s pick to win the AFC West. Some people probably had them as a dark horse to win the Super Bowl.
That wasn’t a crazy thought at the time, as the Raiders had a nice year in 2016. Instead, Derek Carr regressed, Amari Cooper struggled to stay healthy, and the defense got it going too little too late. Sure, Oakland could turn it around and contend in 2018, but it all hinges on Carr. When his offensive line can’t protect him half as well as they did in 2016, he struggles and makes panicky passes.
Oakland could also fire Jack Del Rio, which would be yet another setback for a team that was hoping to turn the corner. Oakland is 6-9 right now and could be as bad as 6-10 or end the year at 7-9 if they knock off the Chargers this Sunday.
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Speaking of the Chargers, they turned their season around in 2017, but can they stay hot in 2018? Los Angeles will have to decide whether they want to keep building around this offense with Philip Rivers or if it’s time to draft a new quarterback and transition to that guy.
The Chargers gave Kansas City a run for their money this year, but when it came down to it, who did LA beat? They lost to the Chiefs both times and while they certainly deserve praise for posting a winning season after going 0-4, they didn’t get the job done.
Last, but not least, our beloved Kansas City Chiefs, who could be going through a bit of a transitional year next season. The Chiefs won’t suck in 2018, but with a new quarterback taking over, winning the AFC West and making a deep playoff run probably isn’t a realistic goal.
The Chiefs need to build around Mahomes and get the defense back to being a younger unit. The defense got old quickly and without an effective pass rush, it’ll be hard to win games.
Seeing the KC Chiefs own the AFC West these last few years (even though they didn’t win it in 2015, they still went 5-1 within the West) has been fun, but three straight years at the top probably isn’t in the cards. Some big changes are coming to the AFC West and it’s time for Chiefs fans to hope for the best and expect the worst.