The AFC West was involved in some pretty differing results this past weekend. If you go team by team, the Kansas City Chiefs were once again in a tight contest against one of their biggest conference challengers. The Chargers steamrolled their opponent in the first half. However, Los Angeles nearly committed one of the worst cases of "Chargering" in recent memory in the second half.
In Denver, the Broncos had a dominant performance from start to finish. Are they starting to become as much of a lock for the playoffs as the Chargers seem to be? And in Miami, the Raiders continued to turn in incomplete performances. With changes coming on the roster entering next season, what could Las Vegas do to provide some confidence in the coaching staff down the stretch?
How do the AFC West teams stack up entering Week 12? Here are where things stand in our latest power rankings in the division.
1. Kansas City Chiefs
The Chiefs are undefeated no more. Kansas City has now lost four consecutive regular season games to the Buffalo Bills, a team that has grown into one of their toughest rivals. Not much went right for Kansas City on Sunday, as both sides of the ball struggled. The defense gave up so many easy completions and left Buffalo pass catchers wide open too often. On offense, the early Patrick Mahomes interception led to the offensive unit having to crawl back fairly early. As good as some drives looked, the pressure from the Bills' pass rush was too much at times.
While some people may act like the sky is falling, the Chiefs got beat, plain and simple. In some ways, that is almost an easier pill to swallow against the Bills. If you compare the way things ended the last couple of regular season games against Buffalo, there is a much clearer list of things to improve on. Kansas City still remains atop the AFC standings. And if they can take lessons away from this loss, the Chiefs will be well-equipped for some of their tougher games late in the regular season and into the playoffs.
2. Los Angeles Chargers
As mentioned above, it was a tale of two halves for the Chargers. Los Angeles is getting some of the best play that they have ever received from quarterback Justin Herbert. And it is not because of many flashy throws. Overall, Herbert looks confident, is seeing the field well, and is playing on time. He is also firing the ball with confidence and the accuracy is absolutely perfect.
If the second half truly provided any takeaways, it is that some of this Chargers roster is still young and in the learning process of finishing off games against good teams. There are no easy games in the NFL, but if you look at most of the wins for the Bolts, they have beaten up objectively bad teams. LA appears to be a strong lock for the playoffs, based on their playing style. But with games against many top teams coming up, the Chargers' mettle will be fully tested.
3. Denver Broncos
What a stretch of play for rookie quarterback Bo Nix. The Broncos' first-rounder tossed 4 touchdown passes and completed 84.8 percent of his passes in Sunday's blowout over the Atlanta Falcons. If you look at his last four games, 9 has thrown nine touchdowns to just 1 interception. He is also improving on his reads and seeing the full field at a higher rate.
Add in a disruptive, physical defense, and the Broncos are getting more believable as a playoff team. Many young teams would not have performed as completely as Denver did on Sunday after losing on a blocked field goal the week prior. But with how the Broncos are staying out of dire situations on offense while limiting the points defensively, they are generally in every game. That makes them more dangerous for this late-season stretch (if they continue to play well). If Denver was not in the AFC West, they would likely be higher than third in divisional power rankings.
4. Las Vegas Raiders
Not much changed for the Raiders coming off their bye week. Brock Bowers was a standout piece on offense. Maxx Crosby made some impressive stops on defense. But as a team, Las Vegas dropped to 2-8 with a loss against the Dolphins. Their losing streak now sits at six games. Inside of that six-game losing streak, Las Vegas has allowed 27 or more points five times.
At this point, it will be fascinating to see how high of a draft pick the Raiders wind up with. They are one of five teams in the AFC, along with the Titans, Browns, Patriots and Jets, who have eight losses. At the bottom of the conference, the Jaguars are already 2-9. With a greater lack of a middle class in the NFL this year, the bottom of the league looks much worse. Just how many teams will finish with double-digit losses in the AFC?