Assessing the Competitive AFC West

As the NFL regular season enters the final stretch, the divisions have taken shape and the AFC West stands out as the tightest in the league. All four teams are still in with a shot of winning the division and gaining a playoff berth. Which one will come out on top?

Oakland Raiders

The Raiders, as a result of defeating San Diego this past week, currently occupy first place in the division with a 5-4 record. After six games, the Raiders appeared to be going well with a 4-2 record and quarterback, Jason Campbell was putting in some fine performances. Campbell broke his collarbone and left the Raiders with a dilemma. Their solution was to acquire Carson Palmer from Cincinnati Bengals.

Palmer's first two games at the helm ended in defeat, on of which was an embarrassing 24-0 loss to division rivals Kansas City Chiefs. This past week in San Diego, Palmer led the team to his first win for Oakland, yet one concern for the team would be that in his three games he has thrown two more interceptions than he has TDs.

The Raiders, however, come into their own when they utilize their rushing game. They are fourth in the league for rushing yards and it's no surprise given that they have the formidable duo of Darren McFadden and Michael Bush and both have been in great form so far this season.

Predictions for the rest of the season:

@ Minnesota (W)
vs. Chicago (L)
@ Miami (W)
@ Green Bay (L)
vs. Detroit (L)
@ Kansas City (W)
vs. San Diego (W)

San Diego Chargers

Despite the Chargers quarterback, Philip Rivers, coming in for some stick this campaign, his Chargers side is fourth in the league for passing yards. The problem for Rivers isn't getting the ball down the field, it has been maintaining possession. After only nine games, he has thrown 15 interceptions. That is more than he has thrown in any of the last three seasons and equal with his worst season ever since he became a starter. To further compound the problem, he has thrown less TDs than he has in previous seasons.

After five games, the Chargers were 4-1 and looked to be dominating a division that has been theirs to lose for much of the last decade. Things started to go wrong after their bye week and since that break they have a record of 0-4, including defeats to division rivals, Kansas City and Oakland.

Predictions for the rest of the season:

@ Chicago (L)
vs. Denver (W)
@ Jacksonville (W)
vs. Buffalo (W)
vs. Baltimore (L)
@ Detroit (L)
@ Oakland (L)

Denver Broncos

Much like the rest of this division Denver's season has centered around the quarterback position but perhaps no team in the NFL has had a saga quite like Denver's. The Broncos has a horrible start to the season, going into their bye week with a 1-4 record. All of this with Kyle Orton in the starters role, but given the performances, fans were crying out for Tim Tebow to be given the starters role.

The fans' wish was granted and since then Tebow, who had already been utilized in the backfield on various occasions throughout the season, has guided the team to a 3-1 record since the break. He has thrown 7 TDs and only 1 interception, but that doesn't tell the whole story. The jury is still out as to whether Tebow is a viable option as a NFL starter. He has a tendency to take unnecessary hits and despite only throwing 1 pick, he is known for throwing some suicidal passes.

The ideal scenario for Denver would probably be continuing to use Tebow in the backfield as a rusher, since he has averaged 6.7 yards and has 2 TDs. That scenario would, however, require a much better quarterback than they currently have.

Denver's positive this season has been their rushing. Along with Tebow, Knowshon Moreno and Willis McGahee have been phenomenal. The team is averaged 158.2 rushing yards per game, but Moreno is currently out injured with McGahee questionable for the coming week. Without either of them, the Broncos may be doomed.

Predictions for the rest of the season:

vs. NY Jets (L)
@ San Diego (L)
@ Minnesota (W)
vs. Chicago (L)
vs. New England (L)
@ Buffalo (L)
vs. Kansas City (W)

Kansas City Chiefs

The Chiefs are shocking. Despite a four-game period where they won four in a row, they still appear to have no hope. You're no going to win many games when you only average 15.7 points per game. In fact, after nine games, they have scored 10 points or less in four games. One of those games was against an awful Miami Dolphins side, yet the Chiefs only managed to score one field goal.

Matt Cassel at quarterback has been average at best and unlike the rest of the division, they lack that spark in the backfield. Despite being 10th in the league for rushing yards they have only managed three rushing TDs all season. The rest of this season may just be a rebuilding process.

Predictions for the rest of the season:

@ New England (L)
vs. Pittsburgh (L)
@ Chicago (L)
@ NY Jets (L)
vs. Green Bay (L)
vs. Oakland (L)
@ Denver (L)

Final Division Standings

Oakland Raiders 9-7
San Diego Chargers 7-9
Denver Broncos 6-10
Kansas City Chiefs 4-12

Nothing has been said about the teams' defenses because they are all waffle on the defensive side of the ball. They are four of the worst defenses in the league and the division will no doubt be won and lost on which offense is the best. With that in mind, the Chiefs should quickly fall by the wayside, as should the Broncos, but Tebow may well continue to defy everyone and lead the team to a better record than the predicted 6-10. Even if he does, it would be unlikely to see them top the division.

Therefore the division will be a straight fight between the Chargers and the Raiders. In fact, it may well come down to their meeting on the final day of the regular season.