3 reasons why the Chargers will win the AFC West in 2022

On paper, the LA Chargers have one of the most talented rosters in the entire sport. While paper does not play football games, this has all the makings of being the year where the Bolts finally break their AFC West drought.

The Chargers have the talent to win just about every division in the NFL, but of course, they have to be in the toughest division in the entire sport. The AFC West is loaded with talent this upcoming season and whichever team does win the division is going to have to go through the ringer.

That team is going to be the Bolts. Outside of talent alone, there are several reasons to be confident about the Chargers this upcoming season, particularly when compared to the other teams in the division.

3 reasons why the LA Chargers will win the AFC West in 2022:

1. The Kansas City Chiefs have gotten worse and have a brutal schedule

The Kansas City Chiefs are the team to beat in the AFC West as they have dominated the division since Peyton Manning retired. While we become numb to the Chiefs' greatness and many just assume they are going to win the division every year, this year is different.

First of all, it is undeniable that Kansas City got worse this season. They can tout the new receivers in the building all they want, you cannot replace an elite, top-five wide receiver with depth. There is a reason why elite receivers are elite receivers.

Kansas City had some pretty big losses on the defensive side of the ball and all of this is compounded by the fact that the Chiefs have the hardest schedule in the entire league. In fact, using Warren Sharp's method of strength of schedule (which is superior as it uses 2022 win total predictions), there is nobody even close to the Chiefs.

The Chiefs have been a lock to win 12 games over the last half-decade. This year, even with an extra game, it is going to take a lot to get to 10 wins.

2. The Las Vegas Raiders' defense is simply too bad to win the division

The Las Vegas Raiders might have one of the most fun offenses to watch in the league next season. Adding Davante Adams is no small feat as the offensive side of the ball is loaded with weapons and has an offensive-minded head coach in Josh McDaniels.

Granted, McDaniels' first head-coaching gig went up in flames and the Raiders are the only team in the division that does not have an elite quarterback, but that is beside the point. That is not the reason why the Raiders won't win the division.

Instead, the thing that is ultimately going to hold the Raiders back this upcoming season is the defensive side of the ball. Raiders fans will point at Maxx Crosby (who is great) and Chandler Jones as proof that the defense is fine. It isn't.

Jones is undoubtedly past his prime what he produced last season simply is not enough to overcome the Raiders' defensive deficiencies. The secondary is atrocious and teams are going to be able to tear the Raiders' defense apart this upcoming season.

This is the same struggle that the Chargers had last season and we will likely see a similar Raiders team as last year's Chargers. They will have an explosive offense with a horrendous defense that makes them lose games.

In fact, it will be even worse for the Raiders because they have Derek Carr instead of Justin Herbert. In the NFC, the Raiders probably could be a wild-card team. In the AFC West, they will be the last-place team with a losing record.

3. The Denver Broncos lack the depth and continuity

The Denver Broncos are easily the biggest challenger to outlast the LA Chargers for the AFC West crown this season. Denver made a massive improvement at the quarterback position and has a talented roster that is absolutely good enough to win the 12-13 games required to win the division.

However, there are some things that the Chargers have that the Broncos don't and that very well could be the difference in winning the division. After all, it is probably going to come down to the last week of the season with how talented this division is.

The Chargers have depth (something that the front office focused on this offseason as the depth last year was poor) and they have continuity. There is actually a really good trend with quarterbacks and coaches entering their second year together, which is promising for the Bolts.

Denver does not have that continuity as they are bringing in a new quarterback who, quite frankly, has underwhelmed in the last year and a half, and a new head coach with no prior head-coaching experience. That absolutely does make a difference.

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The depth in Denver should be a concern for the team as well. While injuries will obviously hurt every team's chances of winning the division, Denver is perhaps the most susceptible to letting 1-2 key injuries completely derail the season. This is an issue that the Chargers have had in past years as well.