State of the AFC West at the Quarter Pole

It's time to look across the AFC West with a quarter of the season in the books.

Oct 29, 2023; Denver, Colorado, USA; Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) in the first quarter against the Denver Broncos at Empower Field at Mile High. / Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

The AFC West is a tight race. The Denver Broncos, Las Vegas Raiders, and Los Angeles Chargers boast a 2-2 record, while the Kansas City Chiefs are undefeated. The Broncos are coming off of back-to-back road wins, neither of which they were favored in, dominating two top-shelf quarterbacks.

The Broncos are riding a mile-high one month into the season, but let’s focus on the rest of the division and how they’ve faired thus far.

Kansas City Chiefs | 4-0

Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid are again leading the AFC West and have yet to drop a game. The season opener against the Baltimore Ravens was close, but just like the AFC Championship Game last year, the Chiefs came out on top.

A week later, the Chiefs defeated their biggest rival outside the division, the Cincinnati Bengals, in a nail-biter that ended with a field goal finish. The Chiefs' defense was the unsung hero of last year, and they came up big against the Atlanta Falcons and Chargers, keeping the game close and shutting down the opposition in the most critical moments.

Something to keep an eye on is that Mahomes has thrown at least one interception a game, five total, and hasn’t been playing his best football. The biggest concern has to be the injury to wideout Rashee Rice, who Mahomes injured after trying to make a tackle after an interception. Until Kansas City proves otherwise, they still run this division. 

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Los Angeles Chargers | 2-2

The Chargers are a much better-coached team, as evident from their four games. Jim Harbaugh has elevated whichever program/organization he’s led, and you can add L.A. to the list. A solid offensive line and run game have been the key to the offense, and the defense looks much improved.

The Chargers handled the Raiders and Carolina Panthers with ease, but injuries to quarterback Justin Herbert and rookie tackle Joe Alt have made things difficult, especially against the Pittsburgh Steelers, where Herbert exited the game in the third quarter.

The Week 5 bye may be a blessing in disguise, as L.A. already needs time to get their top guys healthy. The Chargers come off the bye to face the Broncos on the road in their first meeting of 2024.

Las Vegas Raiders | 2-2

If there’s one word to describe the Raiders through the first four games, it’s inconsistent. The Raiders started by falling to the Chargers and bounced back the week after to shock the Ravens, then plummeted back down and lost to the Panthers, who were considered the absolute worst team in the league.

Vegas finished the month with a win against the Cleveland Browns without Maxx Crosby or Davante Adams. The Raiders' inconsistency has been a part of their DNA for quite some time now, and their next game is against the Broncos, who have one of the top defenses in the NFL. It could get ugly going forward if Adams and Crosby are out for an extended time. 

The Takeaway

September is the month for that often helps us figure out teams' identities, but we won’t know precisely what the AFC West will be until the end of October. Over the next month, a handful of pivotal AFC West rivalry games will shape the division heading into the year's second half.

The Broncos are playing outstanding defense, and if Bo Nix can get more comfortable, they can make some noise. 

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