AFC West report: Divisional insights before Super Bowl LVI

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - FEBRUARY 06: Patrick Mahomes #15 of the Kansas City Chiefs and AFC is introduced at the 2022 NFL Pro Bowl against the NFC at Allegiant Stadium on February 06, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The AFC defeated the NFC 41-35. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - FEBRUARY 06: Patrick Mahomes #15 of the Kansas City Chiefs and AFC is introduced at the 2022 NFL Pro Bowl against the NFC at Allegiant Stadium on February 06, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The AFC defeated the NFC 41-35. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /
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INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA ā€“ DECEMBER 16: Head Coach Brandon Staley of the Los Angeles Chargers looks on during the first half of the game against the Kansas City Chiefs at SoFi Stadium on December 16, 2021 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA ā€“ DECEMBER 16: Head Coach Brandon Staley of the Los Angeles Chargers looks on during the first half of the game against the Kansas City Chiefs at SoFi Stadium on December 16, 2021 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images) /

Welcome to the pre-Super Bowl AFC West report. I took last week off because 1.) work has been busy, and 2.) I could not bear to bring myself to read anything NFL-related. The K.C. Chiefsā€˜ loss to the Bengals was an absolute heartbreaker. It was a gut punch, and one that I did not want to relive.

So, after a much-needed vacation from Twitter, we are back to evaluate what has been going on around the AFC West.

Los Angeles Chargers

The Chargers have continued to have a quiet offseason. Last weekend, we did get the pleasure of seeing Justin Herbert enjoy the thrills of the Pro Bowl and win offensive MVP:

The Chargers are also preparing the stadium they share with the Rams to host the Super Bowl. They, of course, will not be in attendance.

The Chargers had one major coaching vacancy to fill this offseason and that was their special teams coordinator. They have done just that with the hiring ofg Ryan Ficken. We all know special teams has been a particularly difficult phase for the Chargers for many years. Weā€™ll see if this solves all the problems. In the meantimeā€¦

The Chargers this offseason will need to lock up Mike Williams and work on their defense which gave up way too many points. They likely will want to do what Brett Veach did for Patrick Mahomes this season and shore up the offensive line to protect Justin Herbert.

Opposite that, they will want to add a pass rusher opposite Joey Bosa. The Chargers have enough cap space this offseason to do some damage so I expect they will be linked to a number of free agents to try and secure a playoff spot and make a deep run next season.