AFC West Power Rankings following Week 1 of 2025 preseason action

Let's power rank the AFC West.
Denver Broncos v San Francisco 49ers - NFL Preseason 2025
Denver Broncos v San Francisco 49ers - NFL Preseason 2025 | Thearon W. Henderson/GettyImages

The AFC West have all played a preseason game. Let's power rank the division as Week 1 closes out. All four teams got some action, and only two of them came out with a victory. At the end of the day, the preseason only matters so much.

The starters are playing to get some reps in, but the games don't have any impact on the season itself. The Denver Broncos won their first preseason game, but it was after a bit of a shaky start on both sides of the ball.

Let's power rank the best division in football following the first week of preseason action.

AFC West Power Rankings after the first week of preseason

4. Las Vegas Raiders

The Las Vegas Raiders tied with the Seattle Seahawks in their first preseason game, and even if they had won, they'd be ranked this low, as the Raiders aren't going to be any good despite the additions of Geno Smith and Pete Carroll this offseason. Smith and Carroll still doesn't do enough to help this franchise make up notable ground in the division.

3. Kansas City Chiefs

Losing to the Arizona Cardinals in Week 1 of the preseason, the Kansas City Chiefs drop to third in our AFC West power rankings. The main issue with the Chiefs is not having key positions truly settled, as the offensive line, wide receiver room, and even running back room are all still kind of question marks for this team. We also have not seen Patrick Mahomes being overly-efficient like he was in previous seasons, so this does appear to be the best chance that the Denver Broncos and Los Angeles Chargers could have at dethroning them in the division.

2. Denver Broncos

The Denver Broncos blew out the San Francisco 49ers in their first preseason game, but they also fell into a nine-point hole, so this was not a slam-dunk victory. The depth players for the Broncos looked quite good, which was amazing, but the starters, oddly, looked like third-stringers. Denver will figure things out with their starters, but their first preseason action was shaky.

1. Los Angeles Chargers

The Los Angeles Chargers played in the first game of the 2025 NFL Season, as they faced off against the Detroit Lions in the Hall of Fame game, and it really was a strong performance from top to bottom. Jim Harbaugh's team won 11 games in the 2024 NFL Season and look to take that next step, but they have dealt with some major injuries already, as left tackle Rashawn Slater is out for the year. LA had the most complete preseason win thus far, so the Bolts are first in the AFC West power rankings.