Usually, by now, the Kansas City Chiefs would've already established themselves as the cream of the AFC West crop, and the Las Vegas Raiders, Los Angeles Chargers and Denver Broncos would all be simply scrapping over who lands the No. 2 seat in the division. It's been a wild-and-crazy 2021 season, though, and that's seen Patrick Mahomes play uncharacteristic football before seemingly finding more of his mojo as of late, and that's given all of his division rivals a very real shot at dethroning him.
There are currently no teams in the AFC West under the .500 mark, and none more than two games over it, setting the stage for an electric finish in what is usually a predictable division. The only question now is, with the Chiefs having strung together wins over the past three weeks and the Raiders unable to stop them from reacquiring the top spot at the moment, who shall be the team worthy enough to take down the usually almighty Mahomes?
As the calendar speeds toward December, it's all up for grabs in the AFC West.
Chiefs (6-4)
This iteration of the Chiefs isn't accustomed to the level of adversity faced at the start of this season -- losing two of their first three games and three of their first five. Many of their struggles have stemmed from former league MVP Patrick Mahomes racking up interceptions at an alarming rate, and while not all of them are accountable to him, most are. It appears they've righted the ship, however, and downing the Raiders at Allegiant Stadium in Week 10 to extend their current win streak puts them atop the division with no sharesies. That's where they'd like to stay, but the other three AFC West teams are still breathing down their neck.
Mahomes and the Chiefs can't afford many more missteps over the remainder of the season, but they'll get no relief schedule-wise, with a heavyweight fight heading their way in Week 11 by way of the Dallas Cowboys. They'll go into their bye week immediately after, but then they'll have to dance with not one, not two, but all three of their division rivals before Week 16. If they want to win the AFC West yet again, running the table over the next four games might just do the trick, or at least put them in position to clinch the division in one of their final three contests. Circle their Dec. 16 matchup with the Chargers, by the way, because that could very well decide who takes it all -- Mahomes and Co. having already lost to them once this season.
Chargers (5-4)
To this point, the Chargers have been the inverse of the Chiefs -- getting off to a blazing hot start only to suddenly run up against a rough patch that's taken them to 5-4 on the year. They won four of their first five games but are losers of three of their last four, but the good news is the Chiefs brought the Raiders down a peg and that allowed Los Angeles to slip into the No. 2 seat heading into their Week 11 matchup with the Pittsburgh Steelers. It's unclear if Ben Roethlisberger will be cleared from the reserve/COVID-19 list in time, but that has to be of no consequence to the Chargers, who need a victory badly, and especially at SoFi Stadium after having now lost to the Cowboys, Patriots and Vikings on their own field.
You don't win the division (any division) if you can't protect your own yard, and it's time the Chargers defense stepped up and pitched in on a more consistent basis. The aberration of Week 6 (when Justin Herbert and the offense scored just six points against the Ravens) notwithstanding, they've played mostly well on that side of the ball, but are getting eeked out of games by a defense that allows 25.3 points per contest (25th in the NFL). If they want to overtake the Chiefs, it starts with winning at least three of their next four (which includes the Broncos) before they attempt to sweep Kansas City in Los Angeles come Dec. 16.
Raiders (5-4)
No team in the NFL has had to overcome more challenges than the Raiders, and it's not even remotely close. Despite the scandal surrounding now-ousted Jon Gruden, the tragic DUI fatality that led to the release and criminal chargers against former first-round pick Henry Ruggs III and their other former first-round pick, Damon Arnette, being cut loose due to his own brand of off-the-field issues, Derek Carr and interim head coach Rich Bisaccia have steadied the ship as best they could. You'd think this team would be shattered by now, but quite the opposite, and they were only a few plays away from making the Chiefs regret visiting Allegiant Stadium in Week 10. They couldn't piece it together Sunday, though, and that saw a shot at sole ownership of the division awarded to Kansas City, at least for now.
Carr needs to get back to making sure tight end Darren Waller is the focal point of the passing attack and then get others involved after Waller has his momentum, while the defense has to figure out a way to get more pressure on opposing quarterbacks to force them into making mistakes that can translate into turnovers. Losers of two straight, their next challenge is a difficult one seeing as Joe Burrow and Ja'Marr Chase are a force to be reckoned with, and then comes Dak Prescott and his band of merry men on Thanksgiving. Take two of the next three games and then get payback against the Chiefs in Week 14, and the Raiders will be right where they want to be.
Broncos (5-5)
You'd have an easier time trying to solve a Rubik's Cube blindfolded after having been spun around 29 times than you will figuring out who the Broncos truly are in 2021. On one hand, they're the same team that can't do anything but figure out ways to disappoint en route to keeping Vic Fangio on the hot seat. On the other hand, there's a superhero side to Teddy Bridgewater that, when it shows itself, can lead Denver to being a formidable foe that could topple anyone put in front of them. We've all now seen both sides of this coin, from the Broncos starting the year with a 3-0 record to them then suffering a four-game losing streak to stringing together two wins that included a shellacking of the high-powered Dallas Cowboys in Arlington.
Immediately getting embarrassed by a struggling Philadelphia Eagles team one week after shocking the world, however, is further evidence to the overarching point here: the Broncos have no idea how good or how bad they actually are. They'll enter their bye week working on consistently being the former, but brutality awaits them on the other side in two weeks and they'll need to ride their defense to greener pastures. They have a date with the Chargers and Chiefs in back-to-back weeks, and losing both (and considering they have the Bengals, Raiders, Chargers and Chiefs in Week 15 through Week 18, respectively) could be a death sentence.
Much like their other AFC West brethren -- albeit with more pressure applied -- it's now or never.
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November 18, 2021 at 07:43PM
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