With only five games remaining for each team in the division on the season, the AFC West is still up for the taking.
The Broncos, Chiefs and Chargers are all right in the middle of a very close-knit race for the postseason in not only their division, but for a Wild Card spot as well.
So who exactly is going to come out on top and does the AFC West have a chance of sending a Wild Card team to the playoffs?
All that and more in this week’s Around the AFC West.
Standings (with last week’s results)
Denver Broncos…….8-3 (W, 39-36 v. STL)
Kansas City Chiefs…7-4 (L, 20-24 v. SEA)
San Diego Chargers..,7-4 (W, 27-24 v. STL)
Oakland Raiders……1-10 (W, 24-20 v. KC)
Denver Broncos
Kicking Changes
The Denver Broncos weren’t comfortable with how their kicking game was going, so they decided this week that a change was in order to make them a better team for the stretch run.
Out is first year pro Brandon McManus, who struggled mightily in his first season in the NFL. McManus converted on just 9 of 13 (69.2%) attempts, the lowest figure in the league.
In is fifth year veteran Connor Bath, who is a much more accurate kicker, making 84% of his career attempts, along with being the most accurate kicker in Tampa Bay Buccaneer history.
While the field goal attempts get a boost in accuracy, the real change is how well Bath is in kickoff duties. Bath has a weaker leg, with only 7.1% of his kickoffs resulting in touchbacks, although it will be the first time since 2010 that he has had to handle kickoff duties.
McManus on the other hand was at least booming the ball on kickoffs, as he ranked second in the league in both touchbacks on kickoffs (48) and touchback rate (75 percent).
Denver will have to stay sound in their assignments on kickoffs, making sure to stay in their lanes and not lose containment, as the unit will now have to face a lot more coverage opportunities.
In the end though, the improvement in accuracy should be enough to give Denver enough confidence in their kicking game, despite the extra returns that they are going to have to cover.
Looking to End Kansas City’s Chances
The race for the AFC playoffs is one that is very tightly packed right now as we enter Week 13 of the regular season.
A win this weekend, and the Broncos can put a stranglehold on their division.
With a loss, Kansas City will fall two games behind the Broncos, and still have Arizona, Oakland, Pittsburgh and San Diego left on their schedule.
The Chargers need to be considered too, but their recent play (even with a win last week) and even more brutal schedule down the stretch (have to play Baltimore, New England, Denver, San Francisco and Kansas City), all but takes them out of it.
The great thing about this year is that all of these teams in the hunt have to play each other (especially some big matchups still just in the division alone), so it really is going to be decided on the field and the most deserving team will make it.
The problem the AFC has though, is that the North division is most likely going to take the two wild card spots this season. All of those teams have really good football teams and will be tough to take down. That division, which is in the argument for best in all of football, is just too talented to not send two teams this year.
Which means it is going to be the division winner, and the division winner only who is making it out of the AFC West this season.
The Broncos can take a huge leap forward and put the Chiefs in the rearview with a win this week, along with being well on their way to wrapping up one of the top seeds to earn a bye in the first round.
On Tap: at Kansas City Chiefs (7-4), Sunday, 8:30 PM Eastern
The Broncos offense has been sluggish in recent weeks, but got a huge jump-start last week against the Dolphins.
Peyton Manning (28 of 35 for 257 yards and four touchdowns against Miami) will have to keep it going against a defense who is best in the league in stopping the pass (allowing 198.9 passing yards against per game) and one in which he threw for just 242 yards in their last meeting earlier this season.
He is going to have to be smart with the football, and make sound decisions to keep the ball moving against a very talented group going against him. The Broncos struggle in pass blocking recently will also be an issue when throwing the ball, as the Chiefs will be sending Tamba Hali (5 sacks) and Justin Houston (13 sacks) to cause havoc all game.
At least the offense will have more balance, as some pressure is taken off of the passing game with the emergence of C.J. Anderson for the Broncos (5.6 yards per carry) who gets to go against a Chief’s defense that really struggles in stopping the run (129.5 yards allowed per game, 26th in NFL).
As long as the offense can put some points on the board, the Chiefs don’t really have two many pieces that scare you as a defense.
The biggest factor for Kansas City is Jamaal Charles, who is of course, one of the best running backs in the league.
The Chiefs are going to go with a very run heavy, time possession attack that will look to keep Manning and company off of the field.
If the Broncos and their top ranked rush defense (2nd in the NFL, allowing teams just 75.5 yards on the ground per game) can contain Charles, I don’t see how the Chiefs can score enough points to stay in this one.
It will be a close game, but in the end, Peyton Manning will be just too much again, and the Broncos will walk out from Arrowhead victorious.
Kansas City Chiefs
Eric Berry lost for the season as he gets ready to fight potential Lymphoma
With the Chiefs and Raiders playing on Thursday night, we already touched on a lot of topics and reactions from those teams so their write up’s this week were going to be a little short anyways.
I just wanted to take a minute and not really touch on football right now, as awful news from the Chiefs reminded us this week that there are things bigger than football, and that life will throw you some curve balls to test you when you least expect them.
Earlier this week All-Pro safety Eric Berry was placed on the non-football injury list after a mass was found in his chest following last week’s game against Oakland. He was experiencing discomfort in his chest after the game, and was sent for multiple tests to see what was wrong.
After tests were done, it was determined that the mass is most likely lymphoma, a cancer of the lymph nodes, with team trainer Rick Burkholder telling the media that they are “75 percent” of the way toward a definitive diagnosis.
Berry was reported to be heading home this week to his hometown of Atlanta, Georgia, in which he will meet with specialists and figure out a game plan on how to fight the illness.
Even with youth and physical fitness on his side, it is not going to be an easy battle for Berry, who is keeping his fighting spirit throughout the ordeal.
In a press release Berry said “I understand that right now I have to concentrate on a new opponent.”
He continued, “I have great confidence in the doctors and the plan they are going to put in place for me to win this fight. I believe that I am in God’s hands and I have great peace in that.”
I, along with the rest of the staff would like to send our prayers and well wishes to Berry and his family as he begins his fight.
You can find more information on the disease along with finding ways to help the cause against cancer by visiting the American Cancer Society’s page here.
On Tap: vs. Denver Broncos (8-3), Sunday, 8:30 PM
Another little bit of double dipping this week as we already touched above on the big Sunday night match up between the Chiefs and Broncos.
To look at it a bit more from the Kansas City side, they are really going to rely strongly on their running game and stout defense to lead them to victory.
Ball control and keeping Manning off of the field will be the recipe for success in this one.
If the Chiefs want to win, and share a lead of first place in the AFC West (although the Broncos currently hold the tie breaker) they need Jamaal Charles and Knile Davis to be effective and continue to move the chains when they get their touches.
If the running game gets bottled up, the Chiefs offense is really going to struggle, and it could make for a very long afternoon.
San Diego Chargers
The San Diego Chargers are by no means out of it and they have slowly snuck back into being contenders in the AFC playoff race.
After starting 5-1, the team suffered a brutal stretch in which it lost three straight games and fell to 5-4.
With two straight wins though the past two weeks, the Chargers put themselves right back into the conversation, and can control a lot of their own destiny if they finish out the year strong.
Sure, their remaining schedule is doing them any favors in having to play Baltimore, New England, Denver, San Francisco and Kansas City but at least they get a chance to knock off two contenders in Baltimore and Kansas City.
I’m not saying that they are going to do it, but at least there’s a chance in San Diego.
That is a lot more than can be said about the majority of the 32 NFL teams at this point in the year.
On Tap: at Baltimore Ravens (7-4), Sunday, 1:00 PM
It’s going to come down to quarterback play in this one, as Phillip Rivers and Joe Flacco not only need to step up this game, but for the rest of the year if they want to be playing postseason football.
Rivers was an early season MVP candidate, but has fallen off in recent weeks. In the last five games, Rivers has been sacked 12 times and thrown 7 interceptions. He also has just two touchdown passes in the last three games.
He and wide receiver Keenan Allen have also been off in recent weeks, and their chemistry needs to improve greatly if the offense wants to start taking off. At least Rivers has touchdown machine Anontio Gates at his disposal against a very suspect Ravens secondary. There are plays to be made this weekend; it is just a matter of taking their opportunities and executing them when given the chance.
The Chargers defense is very good, and with Flacco struggling at times, I think the Chargers are in a prime spot to take one from another team with playoff aspirations.
My mind says take the Ravens but I’m going with my heart of this one.
I think the Chargers get their first win in team history in Baltimore this weekend.
Oakland Raiders
Could we see a winning streak begin in Oakland?
If it happens, it won’t come easy as the Raiders draw a very tough St. Louis Rams team this weekend.
All of the pressure is on the offense this week, as the Rams have one of the better up and coming defenses in the NFL. They are really starting to come together as a cohesive unit, and have been shutting down some very good offenses in recent weeks.
The Raiders will need a big day from quarterback Derek Carr, who while impressing me this year with his talent, has been slightly off in recent weeks. He has thrown for over 200 yards just once in the past six games. 
Oakland’s defense has not been that good this year and will have to stop the vertical threats in wide receiver Kenny Britt and tight end Jared Cook while also trying to shut down rookie running back Tre Mason, who has impressed since taking over the starting running back duties from Zac Stacy.
While I would love to see the Raiders continue their winning ways, the Rams have a more talented roster at this point at a time in both team’s rebuilding processes.
With an outside shot (and highly unlikely chance) of getting into the playoffs still, the Rams are going to be determined in this one.
On Tap: at. St Louis Rams (4-7), Sunday, 1:00 PM
We got the preview now it’s prediction time. I really liked the feel good story of the Raiders last week, as they finally got the monkey off their back by getting their first victory in almost a year.
It wouldn’t be so crazy to think that they could even go on a winning streak after this weekend.
The Rams are for real though (especially their defense) and are a lot better team than their record indicates.
It is going to be more of a toss up then people think, but in the end I see St. Louis getting the win in this one.
