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Are The Denver Broncos Still The Favorite In the AFC West?

By Khaled Abdallah

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A lot has changed since the end of the last NFL season especially when it comes to the AFC West. The Denver Broncos replaced Head Coach John Fox with Gary Kubiak and lost several key pieces to free agency. Big time players like Terrence Knighton and Julius Thomas left in search of greater riches elsewhere although only Thomas struck gold with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Peyton Manning’s return was in doubt and the offensive line lost a key player in Orlando Franklin. That along with some questions about Demariyus Thoma’s commitment to the team and its long term future have lead to questions about whether the Denver Broncos are still the favorites to win the AFC West. They ran the table in the division going 6-0 but we know how quickly things can change in the NFL.

The Oakland Raiders were the bottom club in the division last year and they look likely to stay there for another season. The Raiders added several key players at positions where they had glaring weaknesses but they are still far from being contenders. They may have some nice pieces and a foundation in place but that will make them more competitive, not division champions.

Jan 11, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning (18) against the Indianapolis Colts in the 2014 AFC Divisional playoff football game at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. The Colts defeated the Broncos 24-13. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

The San Diego Chargers added some weapons to their offense and special teams in Jacoby Jones and Stevie Johnson and signed the aforementioned Franklin and Mitch Unrein from Denver to bolster their offensive and defensive lines.

The Chargers have the offensive firepower to stay with Denver but there are serious questions about the defense being able to slow down Peyton Manning’s offense. San Diego is also always a threat when QB Philip Rivers is on his game but at this point it would be hard to consider them as favorites for the division.

Kansas City made a few moves to improve their offense with the addition of Jeremy Maclin but they also lost some key players such as center Rodney Hudson. The Chiefs came closest to ending Denver’s reign last season as division champions in two close games last season.

Kansas City’s defense should be just as good if not better with the return of Mike Devito and Derrick Johnson from injury so they will be an intriguing team to watch. Still, even with the addition of Maclin and the return of some big time players, Kansas City still does not have the offensive firepower to match up with the Broncos and are also not considered a favorite.

Any team that features big names like Peyton Manning, Demariyus Thomas, and Von Miller should always be in the conversation as favorites to win their division. They have the pieces in place to make one last run as the window on Manning’s career is slowly closing. Even if he has a habit of falling just short in the playoffs, Peyton Manning is the ultimate regular season quarterback and it is hard to pick any of the other teams in the division as the favorite while he is still around.

Manning’s production fell off at the end of the season but that had more to do with his quad injury than him “losing it”.  The Broncos also have a much improved rushing attack and that should help to take some of the pressure off Manning to carry the offense.  The Chiefs may be the ones to knock the Broncos off their perch but it looks unlikely that it will happen this season.

Next: Denver Broncos: Trading for Gino Gradkowski A Bad Move

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