Broncos at the Halfway Point: State of the AFC West
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The Denver Broncos sit at 3-5 through nine weeks of the NFL season, putting them at the bottom of the AFC West. While it’s not an ideal start to the season, Denver seems to be gaining some momentum in addition to some cohesion.
Vance Joseph's defense is turning a corner, only surrendering two touchdowns in the last two games, while the Broncos' offense is becoming more efficient. Special teams have been a prominent bright spot overall as well.
The Broncos' playoff hopes may be dwindling, but they can still make a push if they come out of the bye week swinging against the Buffalo Bills. Outside of the Broncos, the AFC West has looked more or less the same halfway through the schedule.
The Broncos still have three AFC West tilts left on the schedule, so let’s examine how each division rival has faired thus far.
Kansas City Chiefs | 7-2
The Chiefs are still at the top of the AFC West with a 7-2 record, but they haven’t looked like the world-beaters that they’ve been since Patrick Mahomes took control of the league. While Kansas City has managed to keep a commanding lead over the division, it has lost a step in offensive output.
In 2022, the Chiefs averaged 29.2 points per game, but they’ve fallen to 23 this year. Not having a reliable receiving option outside of Travis Kelce has hindered Mahomes, who has thrown eight interceptions thus far, four shy of the 12 he tossed last year.
Lacking receiving threats and a change at offensive coordinator — going from Eric Bienemy to Matt Nagy — has made the Chief’s offense too reliant on Mahomes to conjure plays out of thin air like the magician he is. Luckily for him, the Chiefs' defense has stepped up significantly.
Kansas City hadn’t allowed more than 20 points a game until its Week 8 loss to the Broncos. If the Chiefs' offense gets moving consistently, this team will be as dangerous as ever. Although they're currently poised as the AFC's No. 1 seed, the Chiefs aren’t playing like it and are vulnerable.
Los Angeles Chargers | 4-4
The Chargers look like about what you’d expect. As high as expectations are, they never reach them. Deciding to roll with head coach Brandon Staley for another year was an interesting move, considering the Chargers' defense hasn’t been impressive despite that being his specialty.
While the Chargers have shored up their run defense, their pass defense leaves much to be desired. The Chargers relinquish 7.2 yards per attempt, good for third-worst in the NFL. The Chargers also shipped cornerback JC Jackson back to New England in exchange for a sixth-round draft pick after signing him to an $82.5 million contract just last year.
Justin Herbert has been playing good football despite some injuries along the way. He has a 13-to-4 TD-to-INT ratio and has passed for over 2,000 yards so far. If L.A.'s defense can help out Herbert, this team can be dangerous, but until then, they’ll still be the same old Chargers.
Las Vegas Raiders | 4-5
You know things are bleak when your team celebrates a win with cigars after beating the 2-7 New York Giants led by Tommy Devito. Josh McDaniels predictably flamed out in Vegas just as he did in Denver. Without Tom Brady, McDaniels is a certified loser.
That’s the kind of hire exemplified by an out-of-touch and incompetent owner like Mark Davis. Jimmy Garoppolo has been benched for rookie fourth-round pick Aidan O’Connell. $72 million down the drain for a quarterback who hasn’t done anything without a great head coach and roster around him.
Once again, the Raiders are rudderless at 4-5 and don’t have many winnable games going forward. By season end, Vegas will be in the AFC West basement. So long as Davis remains owner, this franchise will continue to be mediocre to downright terrible.
Thus far, the AFC West has shaken out much as it has in years past. With half the season in the books, though, there's still plenty of room for one of the teams outside of Kansas City to make some noise.
Denver has steered the ship out of treacherous waters the past two games and will look to stay the course against the Buffalo Bills. If the Broncos can navigate past Buffalo, the path to the playoffs may not be as difficult as the 0-3 start led us to believe.
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