The AFC West looks like it'll be a very competitive division in the 2023 NFL season. Let's make three bold predictions for the division in the coming season. Bold predictions are always fun to make, and I do truly think the AFC West may end up being a very loaded and competitive division in 2023.
The Denver Broncos now look like a legitimate football team after adding a Hall of Fame head coach and much-needed reinforcements along the offensive line. After last year's nonsense, I think the organization has figured it out for 2023 and beyond.
The Los Angeles Chargers are a talented team with some shortfalls at coaching and defense, but I don't see why they won't again finish with a winning record and be a competitive club. The Kansas City Chiefs... well, they're the Chiefs and they aren't going anywhere.
I think three teams from the AFCW can make the playoffs in 2023, but let's take a crack at trying to make three realistic bold predictions for the division in 2023.
AFC West: Three bold predictions for the division in 2023
Bold prediction #1: Denver Broncos go 4-2 in the division
How about a bold prediction that benefits the Denver Broncos? I see the team likely sweeping the Raiders and winning one game each against the Chargers and Chiefs. Considering the Broncos manage to beat the Chargers at least once a season and that they played the Chiefs very close in both games last year, I think the improvements the team made this offseason will help them finish with a winning record in the division.
A 4-2 mark would be huge for the division standings. This could lock them in solidly into second place, hopefully good enough for the 5th or 6th Wild Card seed in the playoff hunt. Call me a biased fan, whatever, but it's hard to argue that the Broncos are not a significantly better team in 2023 than they were in 2022.
There have been so many positive additions in positions and places of need that Denver has made. I don't see how they aren't significantly improved, and it'll reflect in a big way in their win-loss record.
AFC West: Three bold predictions for the division in 2023
Bold prediction #2: Las Vegas Raiders bottom out, blow it up in 2024
Is this a bold prediction? Perhaps not. The Raiders as a team got appreciably worse in the offseason, and the main move that contributed to that was dumping Derek Carr for an inferior and injury-prone quarterback in Jimmy Garoppolo.
That coupled with Josh McDaniels being a below-average head coach is a bad mix. The team has huge questions on defense and along their offensive line, but their cast of weapons is solid, even without Darren Waller.
I don't see this team doing hardly anything in 2023. With three other solidly built organizations in the Chargers, Broncos, and Chiefs, the Raiders may already have five losses on their record with the tough division.
This would make life a lot easier for the Denver Broncos, especially if they can get the best of the Los Angeles Chargers. It would also be funny to see the Raiders bottom out. They won six games in 2022 and I'm not sure they can get to that number in 2023.
The Raiders, in this bold prediction, would then blow it all up again. They'd fire Josh McDaniels and ship off some veteran players for draft picks. The team would then return to their rightful spot as one of the worst franchises in the NFL.
AFC West: Three bold predictions for the division in 2023
Bold prediction #3: Denver Broncos have best run game and defense in division
Two things that are huge contributors to a team's success are their run game and their defense, which the Broncos will lead the division at in 2023. They did field the best defense in the division for a while in the AFC in 2022, and I think with the three other foes not exactly having great units on D, the Broncos will finish with the top unit.
And while I think Vance Joseph is not nearly the defensive coordinator as Ejiro Evero, he's been around the block plenty enough to know how to field a competent unit. Denver also has the most talented defense on paper in the division with true play-makers at all three levels.
In terms of their run game, the biggest threat to that title would be the Las Vegas Raiders with Josh Jacobs, who led the NFL in rushing this year. A big reason why I think Denver will finish with the top run game in the division is because not only could they have the best offensive line in the division, but they brought in two excellent run-blocking OL in free agency.
Sean Payton is also likely installing a run-first offense that plays to the strengths of Russell Wilson. Denver's identity could be to beat the living snot out of their opponents with a brutal rush attack while they get picked apart through the air by Russell Wilson.
This was how Wilson turned into one of the most efficient QBs in the NFL during his tenure with the Seahawks, so expect the Broncos to unveil that style of play in 2023.