The Kansas City Chiefs lost their second straight game. After a 5-0 start, the Chiefs are now 5-2 and, unfortunately, their latest loss cost them their lead in the AFC West. The Broncos managed to steal the win at home, and with their six wins versus Kansas City's five, Denver temporarily takes first place in the division. For now, at least.
As for the rest of the weekend in the AFC West, the Raiders won a close, high-scoring game against the Jets. During Chiefs-Broncos, the Chargers had the tall task of facing the Rams and dropped to 0-7 on the year.
With eight weeks under our belts, let's check out the latest AFC West power rankings and see if things shifted at all from last week.
How does the AFC West look after Week 8?
4. Los Angeles Chargers (0-7)
No surprises here. The Chargers continue to flounder week after week, and it's really strange to see how far this team has fallen. Yes, we always joke about how much hype the Chargers get every offseason, but there were legitimate reasons to think they could be a good team this year.
Instead, they're winless in their first seven games, with their latest loss coming at the hands of the Rams. They fell 24-9 at SoFi Stadium against the team they share the same city with, and where do the Chargers go from here? Will they be sellers, or will they write this off as a weird season, keep their stars, and hope that 2027 goes better for them?
The scariest part of all of this for Chiefs fans is that with L.A. struggling so much, they'd land the No. 1 pick in next year's draft. Jeremiah Smith could be making his way to the Chargers' organization, and he would not be fun to have to game plan against. But for now, let's continue to laugh at the hapless Chargers. Do your best Nelson Muntz impression and send a hearty "HA HA!" in Los Angeles' direction.
Next game: vs. Texans (2-5)
3. Las Vegas Raiders (4-4)
After a four-game skid, the Raiders got back into the win column, narrowly defeating the Jets in the Big Apple. Vegas won the game 38-33 and put up points with ease against its opponent while also allowing its former quarterback, Geno Smith, to look good as well.
The Raiders are an interesting team. They started off 3-0, then lost four straight games, and now are back to .500 on the year. We knew we'd have more to go off of once they played teams that weren't the Cardinals and the Saints, and that's continued to be the case.
The schedule continues to get tougher for the Silver and Black, as their next two games are against the 49ers and Seahawks. Crazier things have happened, but the Raiders should be 4-6 after those two games and might fall out of playoff contention by that point.
Next game: at 49ers (5-1)
2. Kansas City Chiefs (5-2)
It was a difficult decision, but ultimately, after the Chiefs lost a winnable game in Denver, they deserved to drop to No. 2 in the division. The Chiefs were so close to having a season sweep of the Broncos, but they imploded and handed not just that game over to their divisional foes but possibly the division title as well.
Some might say, "Hey, the Chiefs nearly swept them, so shouldn't they be on top?" But, truthfully, aside from quarterback, the Broncos have an all-around better roster than Kansas City does, and it showed on Sunday. The Broncos have better talent in the trenches and at wide receiver, something that can't be taken for granted.
Unfortunately, the Broncos have a plethora of winnable games coming up on their schedule, so the Chiefs really missed an opportunity to bury them. Instead, the Chiefs will be the hunters for the rest of the season. That loss really could have screwed things up for them, but hopefully, Bo Nix will lose some of those winnable games for Denver.
As for the Chiefs, they also have an "easier" schedule coming up, too, but they have a lot of issues to address. Their kicker can't make field goals, the offensive line can't protect Patrick Mahomes, the wide receivers struggle with their routes, and the special teams unit is anything but special. Oh, also, the penalties are continuing to be a problem. Things need to improve, and fast.
Next game: vs. Jets (2-6)
1. Denver Broncos (6-2)
Trust me, I don't want to put the Broncos here, but after the collapse by Kansas City, it needed to happen. The Broncos, as mentioned, are the better team on paper.
Fortunately for the Chiefs, they have Mahomes at quarterback, while the Broncos are still rolling the dice with Nix. Eventually, Nix will cost the Broncos some winnable games, and hopefully cost the Broncos some winnable games, and hopefully, the Chiefs can pass them in the standings when he does.
Denver's schedule is pretty lax coming up, as they play the Panthers, Raiders, Steelers, Dolphins, and Jets over their next five games. But there's a reason teams play the games, and maybe—just maybe—a slip-up happens for the Broncos here, and the Chiefs can slide back into the top spot where they belong.
Next game: at Panthers (3-5)
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