NFL standings, Week 17: AFC West teams spaced far apart

After Week 17 of the NFL season, what do the standings look like in the AFC West and what are everyone’s records?

The NFL has completed 17 weeks of the regular season and the playoffs are right around the corner. The Chiefs have already locked up the AFC West but one team is still fighting for a better playoff seed and the other two teams have seen their playoff dreams shrink to zero.

Due to the health status of Damar Hamlin and the uncertainty of the AFC playoff standings, there will be no AFC Standings summary section this week. The thoughts and prayers of everyone in Chiefs Kingdom are with Hamlin, his family, close friends, teammates, and the medical personnel working tirelessly to ensure he not only survives but makes a full recovery.

If possible, please consider donating to the “The Chasing M’s Foundation Community Toy Drive” GoFundMe that Hamlin created to use as a vehicle to bring lasting impact to his community. The foundation supports toy drives, back-to-school drives, kids camps, and more.

Week 17 featured an AFC West showdown and two members of the AFC squaring off against NFC West opponents. What were the results of the games this week, and how did the standings change since last week?

Here is how the AFC West standings look after Week 17:

The Kansas City Chiefs eked out a victory against the Denver Broncos that was way too close for comfort. The Chargers won the battle of Los Angeles against the Rams after pulling away in the second half. The Las Vegas Raiders and Jarrett Stidham put up a strong fight but ultimately fell to the San Francisco 49ers.

The Chiefs may have won, but they did not do it convincingly, causing concern for their fans hoping for a successful Super Bowl run. Yes, they locked up the AFC West a while ago, but they need to clean up their turnover and special teams issues in addition to getting notable players, such as Mecole Hardman, L’Jarius Sneed, and Joe Thuney.

The Los Angeles Chargers are the textbook definition of a “wild card” entering the playoffs. They could make a cinderella Super Bowl run or they could get bounced in the first round. Due to their propensity to “Chargers”, I doubt they will win more than a single playoff game this month.

The Las Vegas Raiders, after the bizarre benching of Derek Carr, were expected to roll over against a great team like the San Francisco 49ers, but that was not the case. Jarrett Stidham played well and the Raiders took San Francisco to overtime but ultimately lost. I have a slightly higher opinion of Josh McDaniels as a head coach than most of the public but I believe that Sunday could be a preview of what may come if he lands a quarterback that fits his scheme.

The Denver Broncos were also expected to just roll over, after firing Nathaniel Hackett, against the Chiefs, but that could not be further from the truth. Although Kansas City let Denver back into the game after multiple sloppy turnovers, the better team prevailed.

The Broncos are now searching for their next head coach. In my opinion, this hire is the most important in a long time, not just because it’s the next one, but also because the AFC West is supposed to be uber-competitive so teams have little margin for error. Also, the next sideline boss will be tasked with “fixing” Russell Wilson.