NFL Power Rankings, Week 18: Updated AFC West rankings after Broncos win division

As the 2025 season comes to its final week, the AFC West has been one of the most interesting divisions in the entire league. At the bottom, the Las Vegas Raiders seemed placed for another complete rebuild after a failed experiment trying to recreate a few fairly mediocre Seattle teams. They do seem to be set to hold the top draft pick in this spring’s NFL Draft, which could finally deliver them a franchise quarterback. 

Right above them is likely the surprise team of the entire 2025 season, but not typically for the reasons a team earns that title. Between Father Time finally catching up, the injury bug settling in, and simply bad draft picks rearing their ugly heads, the Chiefs are in complete disarray entering the offseason. Not much is a given for the franchise next year, and their future was further complicated with news of a potential relocation to Kansas. 

At the top of the division, the Chargers and Broncos are set to go to the playoffs for a second straight year. The Chargers are primed for a wild-card spot and a trip somewhere in the Wild Card Round, while the Broncos need just one win to clinch the top seed in the AFC this year. These two teams face off this week in a game that could have had a divisional crown on the line. Instead, the Chargers have effectively nothing to play for, and the Broncos are playing to force the road to Santa Clara to go through Denver. 

AFC West Power Rankings: Broncos win first division crown since 2015

4. Las Vegas Raiders

The Raiders are an absolute dumpster fire, and not much has gone their way aside from losing this past week. Their loss gave them the inside track to the top pick in next year’s draft, but they’ll have to out-tank another tanking team next week against the Chiefs. This could be the last game in Las Vegas for Geno Smith and Pete Carroll. 

3. Kansas City Chiefs

The Chiefs almost completely messed up their tank on Christmas night against the Broncos, but managed to lose a game in which they didn’t turn the ball over and didn’t have their first penalty enforced until the final five minutes. They should be ecstatic to have a top-10 pick in the upcoming draft, but they haven’t exactly drafted well enough in recent years to warrant blind trust in their selection. This roster could look vastly different the next time they’re on the field in 2026. 

2. Los Angeles Chargers

Justin Herbert and the Chargers lost at home to the Texans this past week, dealing the final blow to their AFC West title hopes. For what feels like the 50th year in a row, they're locked into an AFC Wild Card spot. They will head to either New England, Denver, or Jacksonville for their first-round matchup. This is a franchise and a quarterback that desperately need to win a playoff game, and quickly. 

1. Denver Broncos

With a win on Sunday against the Chargers, the Broncos would finish 5-1 within the AFC West, clinch the top seed in the conference, a 14-win season, and have completely turned the page from the days of Case Keenum, Pat Shurmur, Drew Lock, and the decade of despair in Denver. In a crazy parallel to 2015, the Broncos need a win in their final game to ensure that the road to the Super Bowl in Santa Clara runs through Mile High and not Foxborough.