AFC West standings: Rivals keep pressure on KC Chiefs through Week 2

They’re not exactly perfect—and they’re certainly not the franchises you might have expected to see at this point before the season began—but the AFC West is keeping the pressure on the K.C. Chiefs to start the season. This pressure is highlighted by the fact that both the Denver Broncos and Las Vegas Raiders are unbeaten through Week 2.

Both the Broncos and Raiders deserve credit for their strong starts, although Denver a bit less so because their schedule is among the league’s weakest through the first few weeks of the season. Still, the Broncos have taken care of business against the New York Giants and Jacksonville Jaguars to the tune of double-digit wins, which means they’re doing what they’re supposed to, and they host the miserable New York Jets next week. That’s likely going to push Denver to 3-0 to start the year.

The bigger surprise belongs to Jon Gruden and the Raiders who have shocked the league by starting out 2-0, including an overtime primetime victory over the Baltimore Ravens to start the season. On Sunday, they put up 425 yards of offense and 26 points on an typically suffocating Pittsburgh Steelers defense. That’s two AFC contenders set aside by Derek Carr and company, which should raise a lot of eyebrows—even if it’s a small sample size.

The latest AFC West standings show the Chiefs rivals are putting on pressure.

Together, the pair of teams leads the AFC West at this point, as both the Chiefs and Chargers are now at 1-1 records. The Chiefs fell to the Baltimore Ravens in a shocking road loss in primetime when Lamar Jackson did anything and everything he could to finally put one in the win column against K.C.

No one should discount the L.A. Chargers just yet either, even though they lost to the Dallas Cowboys in a close game on Sunday to fall to 1-1. The Chargers beat Washington in Week 1 and are going to compete every week, win or lose. They’re a tough out every time and they get the Chiefs and Raiders in consecutive weeks coming up, which gives them a chance to put their stamp on the standings moving forward.

Here’s an official look at the AFC WEST standings after Week 2.

1. Las Vegas Raiders – 2-0
2. Denver Broncos – 2-0
3. Kansas City Chiefs – 1-1
4. L.A. Chargers – 1-1

And here’s a look at the rest of the AFC as well.

AFC EAST

1. Buffalo Bills – 1-1
2. Miami Dolphins – 1-1
3. New England Patriots – 1-1
4. New York Jets – 0-2

AFC NORTH

1. Baltimore Ravens – 1-1
2. Pittsburgh Steelers – 1-1
3. Cleveland Browns – 1-1
4. Cincinnati Bengals – 1-1

AFC SOUTH

1. Houston Texans – 1-1
2. Tennessee Titans
3. Indianapolis Colts – 0-2
4. Jacksonville Jaguars – 0-2