The AFC West is shaping up to be a two-horse race down the stretch, as the Denver Broncos and Kansas City Chiefs both seem to be good enough to win the division. With the Chiefs having the tougher schedule, though, the Broncos might have an advantage.
And Denver is going to have to make this push without Daiyan Henley, who the team initially acquired from the Los Angeles Chargers at the NFL Trade Deadline, but the Broncos decided to not go through with the deal.
The Chiefs added wide receiver Josh Downs, and we saw the Las Vegas Raiders trade away quarterback Kirk Cousins. Let's stick with the QB position for a bit and get into some AFC West QB power rankings.
Updated AFC West QB Power Rankings following Kirk Cousins trade
4. Fernando Mendoza, Las Vegas Raiders
Fernando Mendoza is now taking over for Cousins and is as unknown at QB in this league as you'll possibly see. He'll likely get the rest of the regular season this year to prove himself and is surely going to get the entirety of the 2027 season. For now, though, due to us not having anything more than eight passing attempts, Mendoza is ranked last in our AFC West QB rankings.
3. Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers
Justin Herbert now has six passing touchdowns against 11 interceptions, but he's third in our power rankings due to Mendoza's situation. Herbert has comfortably been one of the worst starters in the NFL this year, regardless of position, but the Chargers have been a disaster from top to bottom this year, so it's not all on Herbert. He now has a 70.4 passer rating and is averaging less than 200 yards per game. He's also already been sacked 31 times in eight games, which is nearly four per game.
2. Bo Nix, Denver Broncos
Bo Nix has been playing a lot better football as of late, as the Broncos have averaged 28 points on offense over his last three starts, and during that stint, Nix has a 94.8 passer rating with 6.9 yards per attempt. In his first six games, Nix's passer rating was 79.4 with a 5.6 yards per attempt. Denver is also 7-2 on the season and still getting some clutch play from Nix. The Broncos scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to beat Carolina in Week 9, and it's pretty clear that Nix is trending in the right direction.
He's now No. 2 in our power rankings.
1. Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs
Patrick Mahomes comes in at No. 1 in our QB power rankings. He has been the best QB in the division this year, but the Chiefs have dealt with some personnel issues on offense, as their tackle situation is less than ideal, and outside of Kenneth Walker III, there isn't much else on this side of the ball. Kansas City adding Downs via trade should help, but this is, to a degree, a 'dink and dunk' offense.
Mahomes has 14 passing touchdowns on the year, which leads starting QBs in the division, and the Chiefs do appear to be a juggernaut, so that six-win 2025 season is trending toward being a major outlier.
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