After a long wait, the regular season is back. The Denver Broncos' AFC West division rivals -- the Kansas City Chiefs -- kicked off the season against the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday Night, proving why football is a game of inches. Denver, Las Vegas, and Los Angeles played Week 1 games on Sunday.
All four teams made important moves throughout the offseason to have an improved roster heading into 2024. Among the most noticeable moves within the division, Denver released veterans Russell Wilson and Justin Simmons; they drafted Bo Nix. Kansas City bolstered at receiver by trading up in the draft to get the NFL Combine record-breaker Xavier Worthy and signing Hollywood Brown in free agency. Las Vegas named Antonio Pierce their full-time head coach and Los Angeles hired Jim Harbaugh.
Before looking at the stat leaders from Week 1, let's look at how each team's matchup went.
AFC West Week 1 score recap
Three of the four teams scored at least 20 points in their matchups. Kansas City and Los Angeles started their seasons with a win, while Denver and Las Vegas with a loss.
Let's look at the key stats leaders from the division following the Week 1 games.
Every AFC West stat leader ahead of Week 2
Passing
The AFC West has good quarterbacks overall, starting with superstar Patrick Mahomes. The division also features Pro Bowler Justin Herbert, Gardner Minshew, and first-round draft pick Bo Nix. There were promising expectations for the signal callers, and here is how they did in Week 1.
Player | CMP/ATT | Yards | TDs | INTs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Patrick Mahomes (KC) | 21/28 | 291 | 1 | 1 |
Gardner Minshew (LV) | 25/33 | 257 | 1 | 1 |
Justin Herbert (LAC) | 17/26 | 144 | 1 | 0 |
Bo Nix (DEN) | 26/42 | 138 | 0 | 2 |
Bo Nix was the only one who had a rushing touchdown among the four.
Rushing
The AFC West is loaded with talented ball carriers, and despite a full rebuild at the position in free agency and the draft, Los Angeles dominated the category in Week 1. Denver's leading rusher was quarterback Bo Nix, who had the fourth-most yards in the division.
Player | Yards | Touchdowns |
|---|---|---|
JK Dobbins (LAC) | 135 | 1 |
Isiah Pacheco (KC) | 45 | 1 |
Zamir White (LV) | 44 | 0 |
Bo Nix - QB (DEN) | 35 | 1 |
Jaleel McLaughlin (DEN) | 27 | 0 |
Gus Edwards | 26 | 0 |
Receiving:
Within the division, you would expect guys like Davante Adams, Travis Kelce, or Courtland Sutton to lead in this category, but none did. Only two players had more than 60 receiving yards in their respective Week 1 games.
Player | Receptions | Yards | Touchdowns |
|---|---|---|---|
Rashee Rice (KC) | 7 | 103 | 0 |
Jakobi Meyers (LV) | 3 | 61 | 0 |
Davante Adams (LV) | 5 | 59 | 0 |
Brock Bowers (LV) | 6 | 58 | 0 |
Xavier Worthy (KC) | 2 | 47 | 1 |
Josh Reynolds (DEN) | 5 | 45 | 0 |
Sacks:
The AFC West has multiple elite edge rushers and defensive linemen including Maxx Crosby, Khalil Mack, and Chris Jones. During Week 1, all four teams' defenses combined for eight sacks. This category is led by Broncos EDGE Jonathon Cooper.
Player | Sacks |
|---|---|
Jonathon Cooper (DEN) | 2.0 |
Khalil Mack (LAC) | 1.5 |
Joey Bosa (LAC) | 1.0 |
Chris Jones (KC) | 1.0 |
Maxx Crosby (LV) | 1.0 |
Morgan Fox (LAC) | 0.5 |
Interceptions:
Week 1 did not have many interceptions within the AFC West, still, here are the leaders...
Player | Interceptions |
|---|---|
Alex Singleton (DEN) | 1 |
Poona Ford (LAC) | 1 |