AFC West power rankings: Chargers hold firm despite 0-2 preseason start

Preseason outcomes do not matter but the three games before the 2024 season can still help fans get an idea about the foundation of their favorite team. For LA Chargers fans, they have learned that the team needs backup quarterback help, even if Justin Herbert is now out of the walking boot and back at practice.

With so much focus on the Chargers specifically, fans may not be keeping an eye on the rest of the league, and in particular, the AFC West. Six of the Chargers' 17 games are against the AFC West so it is important to get a gauge on how the team's biggest rivals look in the preseason.

It has been a mixed bag for the AFC West, which makes projecting the division so fun for the 2024 season. Here is how the hierarchy of the division shakes out after two weeks of preseason action.

AFC West power rankings after preseason Week 2:

4. Las Vegas Raiders

The Las Vegas Raiders are the worst team in the AFC West heading into the 2024 season and they are a distant fourth. Former Chargers' GM Tom Telesco did not absorb the most talented roster and in classic Telesco fashion, he made one huge signing instead of building out the depth of the roster.

Now the Raiders enter a season with Gardner Minshew as the starting quarterback. Minshew is one of the worst 7-8 starters in the league and his supporting cast outside of Davante Adams is not great. Unless Brock Bowers is an elite pass-catching tight end right away (which is possible), then Minshew is going to have a tough time.

Head coach Antonio Pierce will get his guys fired up and with an impressive defensive line they will naturally stay close in games. But when it really comes down to it, someone has to be the worst team in the division and right now it is the Raiders.

3. Denver Broncos

Bo Nix has been fantastic in the preseason for the Denver Broncos. There, I said it.

Nix was one of the most polarizing quarterback prospects in the 2024 NFL Draft. He was coming off an elite season with the Oregon Ducks but had questionable NFL traits and arguably was not ready to lead a team where his weapons weren't simply better than every defense he played.

Granted, Nix has not been playing starting-caliber defenses in the preseason and that is going to change when the games start to matter. But while most quarterbacks are struggling in the preseason, Nix has been able to turn some heads.

The rest of the roster is rather thin and the Broncos are probably a year or two away from being a true playoff contender. But as it stands after two preseason weeks, Nix might be better than Chargers fans initially thought.

2. LA Chargers

The Chargers have not scored a touchdown in the preseason yet but that is not a cause for concern. Los Angeles has arguably the worst backup quarterback situation in the league and with several offensive starters not playing in the preseason, it becomes clear why the team has struggled offensively.

That will change with Herbert under center and his entire supporting cast around him. What is really promising for the Bolts is how Jesse Minter is calling the defense and how he has his players flying around. Granted, it is just the preseason, but it has been a welcomed change from the Brandon Staley era.

If the Chargers' defense can be better than expected and flirt with the top 10, and Herbert can carry the Bolts to a top-12 offense, then they will be a very hard team to beat with Jim Harbaugh leading the charge.

1. Kansas City Chiefs

It cannot be anyone else and it will not be anyone else until one of the other teams in the AFC West somehow takes a commanding lead in the division. The Chiefs are the best team in the NFL, period. It is unfortunate the Chargers have to play them twice a year.

And if it was not hard enough to beat the Chiefs after their offseason additions, now Patrick Mahomes is pulling out behind-the-back passes in actual game action. Sometimes it really does feel like we are all living in Mahomes' simulation and he is just a kid playing Madden career mode on rookie difficulty.