Perhaps no team has stolen a win so far this year quite like the Broncos did in Week 7 against the Giants. The Broncos scored an absurd 33 points in the fourth quarter to swipe away a one-point win, which was enough to propel them into first place in the AFC West. The Kansas City Chiefs sit right on their heels, seemingly turning everything into gear.
Behind Denver in the divisional standings are the Los Angeles Chargers, who yet again had a game where Justin Herbert led the team in rushing. Najee Harris and Omarion Hampton are on long-term IR, and Hassan Haskins is expected to be out for Thursday Night Football against the Vikings. The Chargers were smacked around by the dominant Colts and have started to slip in the AFC West. The only thing keeping LA in second place is its head-to-head win over the Chiefs in Week 1.
As for Las Vegas... oy vey. The Raiders are, once again, an unmitigated disaster. The Raiders were shut out by the Chiefs, and neither quarterback they played looked close to good. Geno Smith failed to hit the 100-yard passing mark before being benched for Kenny Pickett, who fumbled the ball away right away. The Raiders are a mess, and their fans can't even be confident that their top-10 draft pick will be the right pick and help the team.
Week 8 AFC West Power Rankings: Chargers free-falling, Broncos finally on top
4) Las Vegas Raiders
There are plenty of words to say about the Raiders, but not many of them are nice. They are destined for another last-place finish in the AFC West, and somehow, the idea to recreate a mediocre Seahawks team isn't working. They might even be locked into the 4th-place spot on these rankings for the rest of the season. Their Week 8 opponent is the Jacksonville Jaguars, and Vegas is two weeks out from their first date with the Broncos.
3) Los Angeles Chargers
The Chargers started the season on Cloud Nine, but are probably down to about Cloud 5. They are running out of healthy bodies to deploy in the backfield, and their defense was slaughtered by Daniel Jones. With another loss, they could find themselves closer to the AFC playoff fringes than the higher end of the conference hierarchy. They get the Vikings this week on Amazon.
2) Kansas City Chiefs
The Chiefs have seemingly corrected many of their issues. One of the true marks of a great team is its ability to beat the socks off a bad team, and the Chiefs did just that against the Raiders this past week. Patrick Mahomes is playing at an MVP level, which is scary for the entire league. However, they remain out of first place and therefore are not top-ranked in the power rankings. They host the Jayden Daniels-less Commanders on Monday night.
1) Denver Broncos
After turning in a historic performance, the Broncos sit at 5-2 and in first place in the AFC West through seven games. Denver's defense struggled, but its offense exploded for 33 points in the fourth quarter to knock off the Giants. They welcome the Dallas Cowboys this week in a great test for their defense and their run defense. As the sole owner of first place in the division, they rank first in this week's power rankings.