What are the biggest issues still facing the four teams in the AFC West?
The AFC West plays host to the defending Super Bowl champions but, unlike every other defending champion, the Kansas City Chiefs come into the 2020 NFL season off of an offseason unlike any other. With the league and world rocked by the COVID-19 pandemic, everything has changed.
And yet, the league has proceeded as usual. Free agency has largely come and gone, the draft went off virtually and now training camps are slated to start on July 28. The preseason will follow and the regular season will kick off as Kansas City plays host to Houston on Sept. 10.
Speaking of the Chiefs, it’s time to check out the biggest questions surrounding the AFC West. It’s the seventh installment of a series that has already seen looks at the AFC East, AFC North, AFC South, NFC East, NFC North and the NFC South).
Kansas City is led by the longest-tenured head coach in the league in Andy Reid, while Vic Fangio, Jon Gruden and Anthony Lynn are all back at the helm of the Denver Broncos, Las Vegas Raiders and Los Angeles Chargers, respectively.
So what are the biggest issues for each of the four clubs in a division that may be the best in the league? There’s now less than three months before the start of NFL 2020 and lots of work to be done by each organization in preparation for what could be a very different season.
NOTE: Teams are listed in order of finish in 2019.
Kansas City Chiefs: Can the defense pick up where it left off late last season?
In 2018, the Kansas City Chiefs scored an impressive 565 points – the third-highest single-season total in NFL history. But Andy Reid’s club also surrendered 421 points and that lack of defense really came back to bite them in the AFC title game overtime loss at home to the New England Patriots.
More from NFL Spin Zone
- Dallas Cowboys made the trade everyone else should have made
- Pittsburgh Steelers rookie sleeper everyone should be talking about
- Anthony Richardson putting jaw-dropping talent on display immediately
- Denver Broncos’ stud wide receiver might be out for a while
- Washington Commanders: Three takeaways from win over Ravens
It may surprise some people to know that a year ago the eventual Super Bowl champions allowed just 308 points this past season, a considerable improvement from the previous year.
And a lot of that progress came after the team’s 6-4 start in which the club allowed 239 points and 28 offensive touchdowns in those first 10 contests. Including the club’s three-game postseason sweep of the Texans, Titans and 49ers, Reid’s squad surrendered just 144 points and 15 offensive touchdowns.
Last offseason, the team addressed the defense in a big way and it paid off. This year, the team added depth in the form of defensive end Taco Charlton and cornerback Antonio Hamilton. But the Chiefs still need to find a way to get franchised defensive tackle Chris Jones (who has not signed his tender, via NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport) under contract sooner than later.
In any case, this group came into its own after a few months and may be capable of bigger things.
Denver Broncos: Has John Elway finally found his solution at quarterback?
The season that the Broncos were busy winning Super Bowl 50, the club relied mostly on defense, as well as the quarterback duo of Peyton Manning and Brock Osweiler. The latter took over for the ailing veteran but Manning would return in the second half of Week 17 and the playoffs.
Over the past four seasons, the team has not only utilized Osweiler but the list of other starters include gone through Trevor Siemian, Paxton Lynch, Case Keenum, Joe Flacco, Brandon Allen and finally, Drew Lock.
The latter was a second-round pick a year ago, spent most of the year recovering from a thumb injury. He would start the final five games for Vic Fangio’s club in 2019 and hit on 64.1 percent of his passes, good for 1,020 yards and seven scores compared to just four turnovers.
The former Missouri Tigers standout enters the year as the main man behind center. General manager John Elway was busy surrounding Lock with talent in free agency running back Melvin Gordon and guard Graham Glasgow — and used three of the team’s first four picks in April on wide receivers Jerry Jeudy (1-Alabama) and K.J. Hamler (2-Penn State) and promising center Lloyd Cushenberry (3b-LSU).
The latter has certainly opened some eyes (via Keith Cummings of SI.com). And Lock has a chance to make big things happen this fall.
Las Vegas Raiders: Can Paul Guenther’s defense take another step forward?
In 2018, Jon Gruden returned for his second stint as the head coach of the Raiders. It was an offseason met with plenty of speculation as in late August the team dealt quality defender Khalil Mack to the Chicago Bears for plenty of draft choices. Later that year, the club also sent wide receiver Amari Cooper to the Dallas Cowboys for a first-round pick.
In 2019 and now with Mike Mayock on board as general manager, the club began using those selections. The first-round haul that year included defensive end Clelin Ferrell and safety Johnathan Abram (as well as running back Josh Jacobs). Cornerback Trayvon Mullen came in the second round and end Maxx Crosby, who led the team in sacks (10) as a rookie, was a fourth-round pick.
So a year after finishing 26th in the NFL in total defense while allowing the third-most rushing yards in the league, the Raiders improved to 19th in the former category and were eighth vs. the run. The club went from a league-low 13 sacks to 32 QB traps.
The team still hasn’t mastered the art of the takeaway but Mayock went out and former Rams’ standout Cory Littleton, as well as a slew of other veterans, to bolster a shaky linebacking corps. Will he bring his penchant for the big play to Las Vegas?
Los Angeles Chargers: Who will be the Week 1 starter at quarterback?
Quarterback Philip Rivers took over as the Chargers’ starting quarterback in Week 1 of the 2006 season. He would not miss a game or start during the rest of his tenure with the franchise. He certainly had his ups and downs, more of the latter during his time with the Bolts, but in 2019 he struggled with taking care of the football.
There was a solid 66.1 completion percentage and Rivers threw for 4,615 yards. But there were 23 touchdown passes and just as many turnovers, including 20 interceptions. And the organization made the decision that he was not in its future plans.
Earlier this year, he inked a one-year deal with the Indianapolis Colts and the Bolts would follow that up in the coming months by using the sixth overall pick on Oregon quarterback Justin Herbert. With veteran Tyrod Taylor already on the roster, head coach Anthony Lynn has an experienced pro that could start the season and one that could help groom the young prospect for the team’s future…theoretically.
But when does the grooming begin? Could we see a repeat of what happened in Cleveland in 2018? That year, Taylor started the season but struggled mightily and gave way to rookie Baker Mayfield midway through the team’s third game of the year. Stay tuned.