Why the LA Chargers should be the favorites to win the AFC West
By Jason Reed
3. The Kansas City Chiefs still don't seem all the way back
The doomsday Chiefs narrative that was popular in the first half of the season has died down for two reasons. First, the Chiefs have won four games in a row and that obviously will take some of the attention off of their struggles. Second, we have seen virtually every other AFC team struggle this season.
The Titans lost to the Texans and Jets, the Bills lost to the Jaguars and were blown out by the Colts, the Ravens lost to the Dolphins and the Patriots started 2-4. Every AFC team has had odd moments, which helps the Chiefs as they no longer stand out.
That being said, while the rest of the AFC is still up in the air and while the Chiefs have won four in a row, it is still hard to say that they are back to being the dominant Chiefs of old. While the defense has improved, it is hard to be confident in the team winning all of the games down the stretch with how they have faired this season.
Let's look at the Chiefs' four wins. They beat the Giants by three and gave Daniel Jones a chance to drive downfield, beat the Jordan Love-led Packers by six while only scoring 13, blew out the Raiders in their best win of the season and beat a Dallas team that might not be as good as we thought as they have lost three of the last four.
None of those wins were particularly impressive. We will give credit to the defense for the Dallas game but they shouldn't be celebrating good games against Daniel Jones and Jordan Love. Offensively, they have had one good game all season and that is because Gus Bradley is the only defensive coordinator in the league who hates change and didn't play the shell coverage that has been slowing Kansas City down.
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Can they get hot and win the last four? Absolutely. But that might not even be a concern for the LA Chargers. The Chiefs could end up going 4-2 or 3-3 in their last six, and with a loss head-to-head to the Chargers, that should cement the AFC West for LA, barring any craziness.