The AFC West is the top division in the NFL. No other division can match the quarterback’s star power, which includes a former league and Super Bowl MVP, nine-time Pro Bowler and Super Bowl champion, a three-time Pro Bowler and a former offensive rookie. year. With their quarterbacks in the lead, every AFC West team has legitimate hopes of a long playoff run and even a chance to lift the Lombardi Trophy in February.
Before that can happen, every AFC West team will first have to go through a grueling 17-game season that includes 24 games against each other. In addition to beating their opponents, every AFC West team must also answer important questions about themselves, questions that will likely define their season.
Let’s take a look at the burning question from every team in the AFC West, starting with the club that finished last in the division in 2021.
It’s hard to believe, but Peyton Manning remains the last quarterback to lead the Broncos to the playoffs. Manning capped his Hall of Fame career by helping the Broncos win Super Bowl 50, two years after falling short against Russell Wilson’s Seahawks in Super Bowl XLVIII.
Ironically, Wilson is the quarterback who will try to get the Broncos back to the playoffs for the first time in seven years. Denver hopes Wilson will help the Broncos’ offense match recent play by their defense, a unit that finished third in the NFL in points allowed in 2021. Denver’s defense will now be led by Ejiro Evero, who recently won a Super Bowl as Rams Defensive Passing Coordinator / Secondary Coach.
Wilson will have help in Denver. Complimenting him will be a considerably deep receiving corps, led by Courtland Sutton and Tim Patrick. Wilson also has one of the best running back duos in the league with Javonte Williams and Melvin Gordon. And while they may not be the best unit in the league (it ranked 19th in the NFL in Pro Football Focus’ 2021 Final Rankings), the Broncos’ offensive line is better than the one Wilson behind. played at the end of his Seattle run.
Can Wilson get Denver back to the playoffs? Much depends on how quickly he masters new head coach Nathaniel Hackett’s attack. It also depends on whether or not Denver can win enough games against some of the best teams on its schedule, teams including the 49ers, Titans and Rams as well as teams in its division. The Broncos also have to take care of business against the weakest teams on their schedule like the Texans, Jets and Jaguars.
Given Wilson’s talent and the overall talent of Denver’s roster, it’s possible the Broncos could pull off nine wins while posting their first winning record since 2016. Wilson will likely need to play at MVP level if Denver wants to further bolster their playoff odds.
Chargers: Is this the year LA breaks through?
Breakthrough is a relative term. For the Chargers to break into 2022 would be to make the playoffs and possibly make some noise once there. Justin Herbert, who has yet to take his first playoff snap, is aiming to win the franchise’s first Lombardi Trophy.
“That would mean everything,” Herbert told CBS Sports last fall when asked if he had won a Super Bowl. “That’s the whole goal is to get to this point. … I know we’re doing the right things to give ourselves a chance, but it’s all about the execution when we get there. I’m really looking forward to it. the challenge.”
Winning closer games would go a long way to improving the Chargers’ playoff chances. Los Angeles went 5-7 in one-possession games in 2020, Herbert’s rookie season. He started 3-1 in one-possession games last season before finishing with a 5-5 mark in such contests. The latest, an overtime loss to the Raiders in Week 18, sealed his third straight season without a playoff.
Improved defense is also vital to the Chargers’ playoff chances. The 29th-ranked team in points allowed in 2021, the Chargers added two big-name defensive players this offseason, linebacker Khalil Mack and cornerback JC Jackson. The Chargers are also hoping to get big contributions from rookies JT Woods (third-round safety) and Otito Ogbonnia (fifth-round defensive tackle).
Hill’s departure was one of the most shocking deals of the offseason. But thinking back to the last two seasons of the Chiefs, we can understand the logic of Kansas City. In the two years since their Super Bowl victory, the Chiefs’ offense, while still prolific, has struggled to make key plays in the most crucial moments of big games. The defences, determined to contain Hill, played further back while forcing Patrick Mahomes to be more of a field general.
Instead of giving Hill a big payday, the Chiefs traded him to Miami, where the All-Pro receiver received his salary. The Chiefs then rebuilt their receiving corps with veterans JuJu Smith-Schuster and Marquez Valdes-Scantling, and rookie Skyy Moore. The Chiefs also still have Mecole Hardman, whose 59 receptions and 693 receiving yards last season are career highs, and the NFL’s best tight end in Travis Kelce.
The receiving corps of Chiefs is deeper than it has been at any time in the Mahomes era; it’s clear. But who among Kansas City’s receivers will step in when the game and eventually the season hangs in the balance? This question will probably not be answered until it is time to find out.
Raiders: Is this Derek Carr’s second season?
Perhaps no player has changed his narrative more in recent years than Carr, whose Herculean efforts last season helped the Raiders clinch a playoff berth. It was the Raiders’ first trip to the playoffs since 2016, the year Carr found himself midway through the MVP race before injury ended his season prematurely.
Instead of being traded, Carr received a lucrative contract extension this offseason. He then reunited with All-Pro wide receiver and former college teammate Davante Adams. The Raiders also signed former Chiefs width Demarcus Robinson and veteran width Keelan Cole. Carr also still has his safety cover, Hunter Renfrow, and one of the NFL’s best tight ends in Darren Waller. Elsewhere, the Raiders have added to the roster of running backs with the selection of Zamir White, who hopes to add his name to the long list of former Georgia backs who have found success in the NFL.
With new head coach Josh McDaniels and an improved receiving corps, Carr is set to have his best season yet. If he does, it will certainly lead to good things for the Raiders, who have also invested in their defense this offseason with the additions of Chandler Jones, Vernon Butler and Jayon Brown, as well as rookies Neil Farrell Jr. and Matthew Butler. .
