How every AFC West team could win the division in 2020
By Grant Tuttle
Here is what would have to go right for each team to win the AFC West.
For the first time in a while, the Kansas City Chiefs are favored to win the AFC West. Perhaps the mainstream NFL media has chosen to finally believe in Kansas City after an incredible Super Bowl win in Miami last year, or maybe they have finally given up on the idea of the Chargers making a run to the top on the AFC side of the playoff bracket. Either way, the Chiefs are heavily favored to emerge victorious for the fifth consecutive season.
While it is possible that Kansas City runs away with it, there are a number of scenarios that may lead to an upset on top of the division.
We are not going to tell you that Patrick Mahomes would need to be held out of competition for another team to win the division no matter how much we may believe it. Instead, we are going to give you plausible scenarios in which each team in the AFC West could win the division rather than explaining how Kansas City could lose it.
Let us begin with the 2019 4th-place finishing Los Angeles Chargers!
Los Angeles Chargers
Overview
After allowing Cam Newton to fall into the laps of the New England Patriots and holding on to Tyrod Taylor to be a starter, the Chargers seem destined to be in the middle of the pack in the NFL. While to the average NFL fan, it appears that the Chargers are headed for a rebuild. To the Chargers, however, they appear as though they hope to be a playoff-caliber team even after selecting a quarterback with their first-round pick.
Health concerns
This may be the first season in recent memory that the Chargers were not widely regarded as the best team in the AFC West. Despite culling together incredible talent over a five-year period, the Chargers have struggled to sustain success. In part, that is due to their horrific injury history during the regular season.
Injuries have shaken up most of the Chargers offense in recent years. Keenan Allen is one of the NFL’s most talented receivers, but he struggled to stay healthy early in his career. Mike Williams has suffered the same fate. Hunter Henry has played only 12 games in the last two seasons. The offensive line features a laundry list of injuries to Russell Okung, Forrest Lamp, and Mike Pouncey among others.
On the defensive side, it’s more of the same. From Joey Bosa to Jason Verrett, from Derwin James to Denzel Perryman, from Corey Liuget to Nasir Adderly, the ranks of the injured are many in SoCal.
These are just some examples of what seems to be hundreds of games missed due to injuries suffered by the Chargers in just the last few years. Their debilitating injury history has contributed to the downfall of the AFC West preseason favorites year after year. To have success this season, the Chargers must avoid serious injury and stay healthy all season.
The Tyrod Taylor factor
Tyrod Taylor is an intriguing player who has shown flashes of being a capable player in the NFL. During his career, he has never thrown more than 6 interceptions in a season. Unfortunately, being safe with the football does not necessarily correlate with being a starting NFL quarterback. What makes this statistic fascinating is that Taylor has never played behind an offensive line that has allowed him time to throw. In three years as a starter, Taylor has been sacked 124 times.
Taylor once again finds himself starting the season ahead of a rookie that is destined to replace him. Although he is listed at the top of the depth chart to start the season, he knows better than anyone that his job could be taken from him at any given time. After just a few starts in Cleveland, he was replaced by Baker Mayfield. In Buffalo, Taylor was replaced multiple times by the likes of EJ Manuel and Nathan Peterman, only to be put back into the starting role.
Once again, in this role, Taylor will have the chance to prove that he is a starting-caliber player. If he can, the Chargers may surprise the critics.
A top-notch defense
The Chargers seem to have a very talented group of players on the defensive side of the ball. On paper, with names like Melvin Ingram, Joey Bosa, and Derwin James, the Chargers are poised to be one of the most talented defenses in football. Due to injury, that has not happened. This season, if they can stay healthy, it seems very possible.