AFC West report: Chiefs, Chargers shift ahead of rivals in Week 13

The Chiefs are on a hot streak, everyone. That’s right. The Chiefs came out still in first place in the AFC West following a win in their first of three divisional showdowns in a row.

This is one of the most important stretches of the season as the Chiefs face the Broncos, then the Raiders, and then the Chargers in a span of 11 days. If they can pull out three wins, they will have done close to enough to lock the division up.

But before we get into that, let’s look at the other teams in the AFC West to see what they are up to.

Los Angeles Chargers

Sunday’s game between the Chargers and the Bengals was a matchup I was really looking forward to. The fact is, the Bengals were coming in a hot team while the Chargers were coming off a terrible loss to Denver. I thought this would be a great game. Wow was I wrong. The Bengals were a hot mess and immediately spotted 14 points to the Chargers. Of course, we almost saw the Chargers squander the lead, but a scoop and score put this game away and handed the Chargers a win.

This game was essential as the Chargers hope to keep pace with the Chiefs leading up to a big Thursday night showdown between the two.

For me, the Chargers are such a mystery. They are hot and cold—you never know what team is going to show up, and that makes them dangerous in my opinion. The Bengals did everything in their power to lose this one, including four turnovers, all under the same storyline of Joe Burrow’s dislocated finger. The Chargers need to play better and more consistently better if they hope to be a true Super Bowl contender.

The best part of this game was Keenan Allen’s pass to Justin Herbert to score on a two-point conversion try:

The Chargers continue to have injury issues as Joey Bosa left and was evaluated for a head injury. His status is to be determined as the Chargers head into a matchup with the Giants. I expect this game to be a bit of a walk in the park for the Chargers as Daniel Jones is unlikely to play and Mike Glennon remains in concussion protocol. We may see a Jake Fromm game. Regardless, I think the Chargers are more talented and will win this one.