The AFC West endured an eventful week in the second slate of the 2024 NFL season. The Kansas City Chiefs had yet another contest go down to the wire in their fresh rivalry with the Cincinnati Bengals. The Los Angeles Chargers were able to get another win in dominant fashion over the lowly Carolina Panthers. Finally, the Las Vegas Raiders pulled off a stunner in comeback fashion while traveling to Baltimore to take on the Ravens.
It was not as exciting of a game for the Denver Broncos. In a home game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, the youth and inexperience of Bo Nix once again made a major difference in determining the outcome. After two weeks, the Broncos are the only team inside of the AFC West without a victory. They travel to Tampa Bay to face the 2-0 Buccaneers in Week 3.
How do the AFC West power rankings shake out after some impressive victories from most of the division? Here is where things sit after two weeks.
1. Kansas City Chiefs
The Chiefs have definitely not been perfect through two games. Unfortunately, injuries have also taken a toll already, with Isiah Pacheco due to miss time. But even through some mistakes, Kansas City has proven that they can win with complementary football and are still atop the entire AFC. The Chiefs ran the ball well on Sunday against a beat-up Cincinnati defensive line. And when the Chiefs' defense needed to stand tall in the red zone, they mostly did.
Penalties and turnovers were the main reason why this victory over the Bengals was more difficult than it could have been. Credit goes to Cincinnati defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo, as well. No defense has given Patrick Mahomes as much confusion as he has. Mahomes was held to his second-lowest passing yard total in a single game as a starter on Sunday. KC will look to play much cleaner on Sunday night in Atlanta.
2. Los Angeles Chargers
Two games, two wins for new Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh. While depth questions have remained for various parts of this Los Angeles roster, the style that Harbaugh wants to incorporate has already begun to materialize. The running game carved up the Panthers with 219 yards rushing and five yards per carry. So far, the signing of JK Dobbins looks to be a steal for the LA offense. Defensively, the Chargers have only allowed 13 points through two games.
People may shrug off what a win over Carolina actually proves. But with a Chargers team that has historically made any matchup look challenging, they are starting things off on the right foot by winning one-on-ones. If this play sustains around a quarterback like Justin Herbert, Los Angeles will certainly be a difficult out in almost any game.
3. Las Vegas Raiders
The Raiders stay in the same spot as we had them in last week's AFC West power rankings. However, Sunday was a crucial victory for Antonio Pierce's squad. It was a sluggish start for the Las Vegas offense. Gardner Minshew was not reading the field well and threw an ugly interception right into the hands of Marlon Humphrey.
But after trailing 23-13 with just over 12 minutes, Minshew began to find quick completions towards the flats and in the shallow areas. Baltimore began to miss tackles and struggled to complete passes on offense. As part of the fourth-quarter comeback, the Raiders tied it up with a one-yard touchdown pass to Davante Adams. Eventually, kicker Daniel Carlson drilled a 38-yard field goal down the middle with 27 seconds left. It was a gutsy win for the Raiders when they did not start out hot. Can they carry that momentum forward?
4. Denver Broncos
It was a 13-6 loss at home against Pittsburgh for Denver on Sunday. Bo Nix had another choppy performance in his second career start. People will harp on the usually low yards-per-attempt figures of Nix. But when the rookie passer has attempted to push the ball down the field, he has made easy mistakes that are typical of young quarterbacks. Staring down his receivers, getting to his reads late and inconsistent footwork within the pocket all hurt Nix on Sunday. He ended up throwing two interceptions, as well.
In other Broncos action, it is going to be fascinating to see how long this defensive front can make a push. They have been able to create some pressure in the first two weeks. If Denver can continue to keep games close, perhaps Nix will have a chance to settle in sooner rather than later. But right now, the learning curve is long and steep for this Broncos team.