NFL standings: KC Chiefs take early lead in the AFC West after Week 2

After Week 2 of the NFL season, what do the standings look like in the AFC and AFC West? Where do the KC Chiefs stack up in the conference and division?

With the 2022 NFL season in full swing, the first two weeks are finally complete, but the standings are still a little murky as every team in the league is within two games of every other team. Since it’s so early, no team has quite pulled away in the NFL standings, but that will start to change in the near future.

Week 2 only saw two inter-conference games, compared to six in Week 1, so despite it being early in the season, there very well could be end-of-season tiebreakers that are affected by games played this weekend. There were a lot of changes from a week ago now that all but three teams in the AFC already suffering a defeat in this young season.

One of the most anticipated games of not only Week 2, but the NFL season as a whole, was the Los Angeles Chargers and Kansas City Chiefs matchup on Thursday Night Football. The Denver Broncos were looking to bounce back after being upset by the Seattle Seahawks, while the Las Vegas Raiders aimed to avoid an 0-2 start against the Arizona Cardinals.

Here is how the AFC West standings look after Week 2:

According to FiveThirtyEight (QB Adjusted), before Week 2, the Chiefs were the clear favorites to win the AFC West with a 51% chance to win the division. The Los Angeles Chargers, Denver Broncos, and Las Vegas Raiders followed at 31%, 13%, and 6%, respectively (the percentages don’t add up to 100 due to rounding up). After Monday, the Chiefs are still the favorites at 62%, followed by the Chargers at 21%, Broncos at 14%, and finally the Raiders at 3%.

The Chiefs eked out a critical win Thursday night against the Chargers to get a head start in the quest for a seventh consecutive division title. The Chargers played well, despite the loss, and should be a thorn in Kansas City’s side for the rest of the season. The Broncos won an ugly game against the lowly Houston Texans, while the Raiders choked away the game against the Arizona Cardinals.

The Chiefs are rightly the favorites to win the division after this week but the Chargers should give them a fight to the very end and the game on Thursday Night was huge in determining who gets the AFC West crown. The Raiders are likely already out of the race and the Broncos have an outside chance but definitely don’t look strong enough to overtake either the Chargers or Chiefs.