This is by the best division in the NFL this year, full of competition, close
battles, and grit till the end of the season. We are going to breakdown the potential for
the AFC West, a division that is going to be tough to determine the winner
AFC West: Denver
The Denver Broncos have been a team that has struggled ever since the Peyton
Manning era and won a Super Bowl with the Hall of Fame QB on their team. Times
have changed though and picking up a star QB like Russell Wilson to lead your team is
huge and could be historic for this struggling Broncos team. Going through many QB’s
since 2015, Denver has finally secured a QB they think will have the most potential of
any QB they have had besides Manning. With Wilson leading the charge, he has targets
like Jerry Jeudy and Courtland Sutton to throw too. Not to mention his two RB’s in the
backfield that will both see an equal amount of playing time. Melvin Gordon and Javonte
Williams, will probably share snaps and be more RB’s that come out of the backfield
and make catches rather than actually running the ball itself. Losing a large amount of
picks and TE Noah Fant could be an issue for the Broncos, but we will see if that is the
case. The Broncos defense struggles a little bit, but they can definitely pull through now
that they have a very strong offense. Denver is matched up against Russell Wilson’s ex
team, the Seattle Seahawks in what should be an exciting matchup.
Kansas City:
The Chiefs are definitely a team that everyone is looking forward to watching yet again
this season. With MVP and star QB Patrick Mahomes as the forefront of their offense,
the Chiefs just need to work on their defense which has been an issue the past couple
of seasons. Finishing atop of their division last season, after a rough start, and making it
all the way to the conference final against the Bengals, the Chiefs were all set to win
that matchup in the first half, that was until their defense fell apart and Cincinnati took
over. With Mahomes leading the way and having TE Travis Kelce on your offense as
well, KC should really have no issues making it far in the playoffs once again, as long as
Edwards-Hellaire can come back and stay healthy and a WR will step up and fill the
shoes of Tyreek Hill who went to the Miami Dolphins. The Chiefs were defense heavy
in their 2022 draft taking several defensive backs in the draft most notably Trent
McDuffie. The Kansas City Chiefs are definitely sitting in a good spot to win their
division again this season and possibly make it to another Super Bowl, which would
look very good for Patrick Mahomes. The Chiefs make their season debut in Arizona
against Kyler Murray and the Cardinals, where they hope to start the season on a good
note and maybe take away some hype from the Buffalo Bills, who they barely beat in
the conference final in last season’s playoffs.
Los Angeles:
Here is a team who will live up to the hype. The Los Angeles Chargers are a team that
everyone thinks will have a breakout season and quite possibly will ruin the Chiefs
division winning streak. Justin Herbert was definitely not a top player when he was a
junior in college, but he has lived up to the hype and criticism when he started his senior season at Oregon. Having Austin Ekeler and Keenan Allen to back him up on offense,
and new additions like Khalil Mack on defense and current edge rusher Joey Bosa, the
Chargers are definitely a team to watch this season as they could make a run through
the regular season that could get them a playoff berth and potentially a conference title
and Super Bowl berth. Herbert is now listed in the top 10 QB’s of the NFL and that is no
secret, he will have to live up to his name and he could be the best QB the Chargers
have ever had. LA starts their season against two division rivals, one being the Las
Vegas Raiders and then they will travel to Kansas City. If they win both of these games,
the Chargers will most likely be the team to beat in the NFL this season as they have
built their team into a Super Bowl contender.
Las Vegas:
The Raiders have had some trouble with players behaving. Henry Ruggs being one of
those players and having others in the past who committed some illegal crimes, the Las
Vegas Raiders just hope that newly acquired WR, Davante Adams does not end up this
way. This is huge for QB Derek Carr though as Las Vegas has been hoping for an elite
player like this. They thought Henry Ruggs was going to be their receiver that was a big
add when they drafted him, but sadly he is now out of the league and in prison. Derek
Carr has a good recieving core in Hunter Renfrow and Davante Adams along with tight
end Darren Waller as well. Josh Jacobs and Kenyan Drake also coming out of the
backfield can help as well and take the load off throwing the ball if needed. Las Vegas
opens their season against the Chiefs on September 11 and they look to start 1-0 and
live up to how good of a team they might be this season. If the Raiders can show the talent they actually have on their team and stay out of trouble, they have a chance at
winning the division this year or at least contend with the Chargers and Chiefs.
The AFC West is going to be the NFL’s best division this season, it may not show with
the records of each team but we are expecting a close race between all these teams
and a possibility of a dramatic ending to the season. Can Herbert and the Chargers take
away Mahomes and the Chiefs 6 year division winning streak, or can Carr and the
Raiders come from the bottom and surprise the two star QB’s and become an even
bigger star himself? Or will Wilson and the Broncos make a statement in his first season
with the team?
It is going to be a very exciting NFL season and those are all the divisions along with
their teams and how they will match up with each other. With the AFC West being at the
top of the list and the AFC South, NFC East and NFC North being more toward the
bottom we could see a few surprises during the season.
