Week 14 was a good week for three of the four AFC West teams, as the Denver Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs, and San Diego Chargers all added another W to their win column. As the season winds down, these teams will look to keep on with their winning ways and further their playoff push.
The 11-2 Denver Broncos have already clinched a playoff berth with their win against the Tennessee Titans last week, but they are hungry for another AFC West title. Denver will host the 6-7 Chargers on Thursday Night Football, with San Diego attempting to spoil their division hopes.
Peyton Manning and the Broncos continue to dominate the AFC, but their defense has been iffy at times throughout the season. For the Chargers, Philip Rivers has had a turnaround season, but San Diego has been let down by their defense causing more losses than wins.
Despite their 6-7 record, the Chargers are still very much in the wild card race, but in order to stay alive, they’ll have to beat one of the best teams in the NFL.
This will be an intriguing matchup for prime time football. The Broncos are always fun to watch, and the Chargers are fighting for a playoff spot, but it won’t be easy. The Broncos have been dominant no matter where they play, but they are nearly unstoppable at Mile High.
Denver is the clear favorite, but it will be interesting to see San Diego’s approach and how well they execute against the Broncos.
The 4-9 Oakland Raiders will host the 10-3 Chiefs who are looking to take the division as well. There’s no doubt they are playoff bound, but they are still playing for the division title and a first round bye.
The Raiders continue to have their problems on both sides of the ball which has led to quarterback shuffling between Terrelle Pryor and Matt McGloin, and the defense has been subpar as of late as well.
They have played in games that they should have won, but due to lack of execution the losses have stacked up. There’s still many unanswered questions when it comes to the Raiders and their players. Although they are not mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, logically they are.
Unfortunately for the Raiders, their last three games are against division rivals, and all three games will be tough for them to handle. The bright side? Two of their final three are at home and those games will be against the division leaders in the Chiefs and Broncos.
There’s been some rays of light for the Raiders throughout the season and there has been some improvement, but they need to figure out how to put it all together, improve as a team, and execute on the field.
The Chiefs, on the other hand, continue to be one of the hottest teams in football, and will have an easy stop in Oakland. Alex Smith and company will look to improve their record as well as their chances at winning the division.
The Chiefs can, and most likely will, clinch a playoff berth this Sunday in Oakland.
The last time these two played each other, it was a game of defense at the beginning. The Chiefs defense came out strong as they sacked Pryor nine times. The Chiefs are talented on both sides of the ball, and have had a quick turnaround season under Andy Reid.
The Raiders will look to get some revenge at home, while the Chiefs will look to clinch their first playoff berth in three seasons with a victory.