Emmanuel Sanders, Martavis Bryant injuries could affect AFC West race

A couple of key wide receiver injuries in the AFC West will certainly alter the competitive situations moving forward in the last month of the season.

Coming down to the final month of the regular season, the AFC West still isn’t quite decided as the Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Chargers continue to keep pace with one another. The Chiefs win earlier this year over the Bolts is the difference between the two right now, but a week from Thursday will feature a rematch in an all-important AFC West showdown.

Until then, however, a couple key injuries to other teams in the division could end up making significant waves for the division and the AFC playoff picture. On Wednesday it was announced that Denver Broncos wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders and Oakland Raiders wide receiver Martavis Bryant were unofficially both lost for the rest of the season. Both injuries could affect the postseason positioning for a handful of teams, including the Chiefs.

The loss of Sanders is definitely the most impactful of the pair. Sanders is a major cog in the Denver Broncos passing game, a talented wide receiver who is the most reliable pass catcher especially after Demaryius Thomas was traded away to the Houston Texans. Adam Schefter reported on Wednesday that a torn Achilles is likely in the cards for Sanders, which means he faces a lengthy rehabilitation period.

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The Kansas City Chiefs have already faced the Broncos twice and won both times, but the Broncos, a team on the verge of a late-season surge, will now have to make do without their best offensive weapon (sans Phillip Lindsay, perhaps). The Broncos also lost cornerback Chris Harris over the weekend, which makes two significant playmakers are now gone for Case Keenum and company. Consider that the Broncos had a nice clear path to the playoffs if they could likely win out. A season-ending contest against the Chargers will be a major showdown for the division, but without Sanders, the Bolts have a much easier slate ahead.

As for Bryant, the loss complicates the Raiders’ ability to play spoiler down the stretch. The Raiders certainly shouldn’t expect to upset anyone, but they have the chance to hurt several teams. Check out their final four opponents: the Steelers, Broncos, Chiefs and Bengals. Gruden would lose all kinds of draft stock and assets by winning a game or two, but it also might prove to give the franchise some hope heading into the final season.

Sanders has 78 catches for 868 yards and 4 touchdowns so far on the season. As for Bryant, he had 19 catches for 266 receiving yards and 0 touchdowns.

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