AFC West Power Rankings: Did the Broncos rise after their bye week?

The AFC West is arguably the best division in football this year. Did the Denver Broncos rise in our latest division power rankings? The Broncos were on their bye in Week 14 and got to rest up before their final four games.

And it is not hyperbole to say that their Week 15 game against the Indianapolis Colts is the most important game of the post-Super Bowl 50 era. If the Broncos win that game, it becomes very, VERY likely that this team makes the postseason in 2024.

They have not made the postseason since 2015, which is the second-longest streak in the NFL. With four games remaining, all Denver may need to do is to win two of them; that's it. Let's get into our latest AFC West power rankings. Did the Broncos make a jump?

AFC West Power Rankings: Did the Broncos rise after their bye week?

4. Las Vegas Raiders

The worst team in football this year is the Las Vegas Raiders. They've now cycled through three different starting QBs and have lost nine games in a row. They sit at 2-11 on the season and could find themselves picking one of Shedeur Sanders or Cam Ward in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft.

Vegas is a total disaster and just not a team that will make any noise whatsoever until they get the QB right. To top things off, I am not sure that Antonio Pierce is the right head coach for them either, so this could be a huge reset year for the Raiders.

3. Los Angeles Chargers

To me, the Los Angeles Chargers can really only win games in one kind of way, and I do not think they are quite as adaptable or as talented as the Denver Broncos are. The Broncos did lose to the Chargers at home several weeks ago, but you just have to wonder how much Patrick Surtain II leaving the game after the first play had to do with that.

The Broncos play the Chargers on Thursday Night Football in Week 16, so that could be a time where Denver looks to get some revenge. All things considered, the Broncos may be ever-so-slightly better than LA. Their defense is just as good, as they do have a better scoring offense, so the Chargers drop to third in our latest AFC West power rankings.

2. Denver Broncos

The Denver Broncos did get a bit of help in Week 14 when the Kansas City Chiefs beat the Los Angeles Chargers. The Broncos needed two defensive touchdowns and an overall shootout to beat the Cleveland Browns in Week 13. It was one of the more unexpected games of the entire season.

It figured to be a mostly low-scoring affair, and being that Denver's defense was and is among the best in the NFL, it was shocking to honestly see the Browns even cross 20 points in this game. Nonetheless, Denver proved that they can win games in multiple ways and would be a more dangerous team in the postseason than the LA Chargers.

The Broncos may not have all that much of a downgrade at QB between Justin Herbert and Bo Nix, and the Broncos pass rush is considerably better than LA's. Denver rises to two in our latest AFC West power rankings.

1. Kansas City Chiefs

The Kansas City Chiefs are more like an 8-5 team like the Broncos and Chargers, but credit is due here. To be fair, they are simply finding a way to win the game, and they've been able to do it in multiple ways. It's actually pretty annoying if you ask me, but here we are.

Their latest win came on Sunday Night Football in Week 14 over the LA Chargers, and with the Buffalo Bills loss, they are now two games ahead of them in the AFC standings. That's huge, as the Bills did beat the Chiefs a few weeks ago, so if the two teams were to finish with a the same record, Buffalo would get the better seed.

The Chiefs seem poised to again make it back to the Super Bowl for the third year in a row, and could become the first team in NFL history to win it three-straight times. The Chiefs remain at no. 1 in our AFC West power rankings.