Heading into the 2025 season, the Kansas City Chiefs were on a quest to win their 10th straight division title. It has felt, for the better part of the last decade, like the Chiefs were the most inevitable team in the NFL, even with a huge target on their back.
Now, the Chiefs have been mathematically eliminated from possibly winning the AFC West in 2025. The Broncos and Chargers are fighting for the division title this year after Kansas City suffered its 7th loss of the year already. The Raiders are irrelevant, but how does this division stack up after the first 13 games?
Our latest NFL Power Rankings will take a look at ranking the (relatively straightforward) AFC West and how each team has been playing as of late.
NFL Power Rankings, Week 15: Updated AFC West rankings after wild Week 14 action
4. Las Vegas Raiders
The Las Vegas Raiders have been one of the worst teams in the NFL almost all year. To think that their season started off with a win against the Patriots is kind of funny in hindsight. But believe it or not, that win actually looms quite large right now in the overall AFC playoff race.
The Raiders' win over the Pats is actually helping the Denver Broncos, because the Broncos are 6-0 against common opponents with the Patriots, who are 5-1 against common opponents. That one loss the Raiders handed the Patriots could benefit their rivals.
3. Kansas City Chiefs
After winning so many one-score games last season, the Chiefs have just lost the magic this year. Patrick Mahomes is not playing nearly as well as we've gotten used to seeing from him. The defense is still tough, but the offense simply can't match them.
And then you have Andy Reid making some bone-headed calls during games to go for it on 4th down when his defense had dominated just about every drive prior. In such a tight game with massive consequences, to see Reid pull that kind of stunt was really unfortunate.
The Chiefs can't win the AFC West this year, and now they're fighting for their playoff lives at 6-7.
2. Los Angeles Chargers
Even with five takeaways by the defense (two of them on one play), the Chargers needed overtime and an extremely clutch play defensively to beat the Philadelphia Eagles. I think what we've seen from the Chargers this year is impressive in the resilience department, but are we truly buying this team as a Super Bowl contender?
They were bounced from the playoffs so quickly last year, you almost forget they got there in the first place. Now, we'll get to see just how far Justin Herbert can carry this team. That's what he was doing on Monday night.
1. Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos might be the Cardiac Kids of the NFL this season with so many one-score wins, but their win against the Raiders on Sunday showed just how dominant this team is capable of being. The final score doesn't reflect just how badly the Broncos punked the Raiders, winning their 10th-straight game and answering some important questions about the running game.
The Broncos have some huge tests coming up with home games against the Packers and Jaguars on deck. Their ability to beat the best teams in the league has been proven this season, but they'll get tested tremendously as they try to put a bow on a division title for the first time since 2015.