NFL power rankings: Chiefs remain on top of AFC West as rivals jostle for position

The AFC West was involved in some pretty large margins of victory in Week 9. The Chargers dominated things in Cleveland. Meanwhile, the Broncos and the Raiders both gave up over 40 points on Sunday. The Chiefs were the only team in the division to compete in a tight contest. It took overtime against Tampa Bay to decide the winner.

With the calendar turning to November, every NFL team pretty much knows what they have for the stretch run. In the AFC West in particular, there is still a chance that we could see three playoff teams come out of the division. But with a tight AFC wild card race, there could also be some shifting in the conference to where only the division winner gets in.

How do the AFC West teams stack up entering Week 10? Here are where things stand in our latest power rankings in the division.

1. Kansas City Chiefs

Monday night against the Buccaneers was kind of your typical game for the Chiefs in primetime. The offense played largely strong in the first half. It was a solid, but unspectacular, start by the Kansas City defense. And entering the second half, it was a much closer contest than it felt like it should have been. That is especially true when you consider how in sync Patrick Mahomes was with top weapons Travis Kelce and DeAndre Hopkins. The Buccaneers made Kansas City sweat it out, but once again, the Chiefs found a way to win. That is all that matters right now.

The performance of Hopkins, including his two touchdown catches, really showed how much better the Chiefs could end up being as the year goes on. Kansas City may have to work through some kinks here and there. However, it is going to be incredibly difficult to slow down the Chiefs when Mahomes, Hopkins, and Kelce can get in a groove like they did on Monday.

2. Los Angeles Chargers

We have yet another flip-flop for the second spot in the division in these power rankings. The Chargers dropped a bit of a weird game to the Arizona Cardinals a few weeks ago, but other than that, this team has been dominating opponents both physically and mentally. The scoring defense and instincts of the defensive unit have seemingly got stronger. Justin Herbert also continues to display a newfound confidence and, consequently, he is visibly elevating a pass-catching group that was seen as a laughingstock entering the season.

Los Angeles is going to be tested heavily over the next month or so. Games against teams like Cincinnati, Baltimore, Atlanta, Tampa Bay and Kansas City await. Can the Chargers prove they are believable as a playoff team during that tough stretch? Either way, they are continuing to put together ingredients that are making them incredibly exhausting to play against.

3. Denver Broncos

It is never easy travelling to Baltimore to take on the Ravens. But on Sunday, the Broncos just looked more like a pretender and failed to provide any punch on either side of the ball. A defense that was playing fundamentally sound got lost in space, missed tackles, and failed to communicate properly. The inexperience of Bo Nix showed up as well. He was unable to settle in and looked antsy in the pocket. That was not the first time where that has happened this season against a good team.

If the Broncos are going to make a run for a playoff spot, they have to be more competitive against good teams. It is as simple as that. Beating up on teams like the Raiders and the Panthers can only prove so much. It is also important to remember that Denver may be a bit ahead of schedule with Nix at the helm.

The Broncos are going to have to show that they can take the next step late in the year. If so, they can get back to the postseason for the first time since winning Super Bowl 50.

4. Las Vegas Raiders

The Raiders did not offer much of a threat to the Bengals in Cincinnati. It was Las Vegas's fifth-straight loss, and as we have discussed, the quarterback spot remains a complete question mark. Gardner Minshew was benched, allowing Desmond Ridder an opportunity later on. We have also talked about uncertainty for the Raiders entering the future.

More decisions will have to be made for the coaching staff entering 2025 because after the loss to the Bengals, the Raiders fired offensive coordinator Luke Getsy. Getsy was in his first year with the team and lasted just nine games. Two other offensive assistants were also let go. To put the continued coaching staff changes into perspective, Las Vegas has now changed coordinators or head coaches in the middle of a season four times in a five-year span, via Adam Schefter of ESPN. The Raiders just cannot seem to get aligned organizationally.