Oakland Raiders: 3 Reasons they won’t finish last in the AFC West
By Steve Rivera
2. Nothing is certain below Kansas City
If the betting money is on the Chiefs to again win the AFC West, everything after that may be up in the air. Both Rivers in Los Angeles and Flacco in Denver are veterans much closer to the end of their careers than the beginning.
Even Mahomes in his third year (second as a starter) is no lock to repeat his spectacular performance of 2018. So why is it a foregone conclusion that the likely scenario is the Raiders finishing as the did last season?
It would be foolish to think the Raiders could go from worst to first in the division. They will have a lot of inexperience to overcome and how things shake out between Carr and Brown is still anybody’s guess.
All the above also isn’t exclusive only to Oakland, though. Kansas City has issues stemming from one of its best players in Tyreek Hill. Flacco may be well past his prime, and the Chargers too often underwhelm in relation to talent and expectations.
The AFC West will be very competitive in 2019 as unknown variables dot the division. While it may not be totally up for grabs, the Raiders will make enough noise and win some games they didn’t last season. Brown alone may be a game-changer, not just on his team, but for the AFC West as a whole.