Around the AFC West: The Broncos are cellar dwellers, by a mile

The Denver Broncos are not only at the bottom of their division, but they’re also almost the worst team in all of football. Only the Houston Texans (1-9-1) have fewer than the Broncos three wins so far this season. The Broncos, Rams and Bears all have three wins entering Week 13. They are vying to make up the top four of the 2023 NFL Draft, but it’s too bad the Broncos are surrendering their pick to the Seahawks as part of the trade for Russell Wilson.

This week, the Broncos travel to face a tough Ravens team. The Chiefs have a rematch of the 2021 AFC Championship Game against the Bengals on Sunday. The Chargers and the Raiders play each other, this time in Las Vegas.

Let’s take a spin around the AFC West to see what the competition is up to.

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Kansas City Chiefs

The Chiefs are 9-2 and the best team in the NFL. They are Super Bowl favorites and they are getting better as the season goes on. Already known as arguably the best passing attack in all of football, the Chiefs are now showing more balance on offense. They beat the Rams last week, and they did that with good defense and a good rushing attack – oh yeah, and also a dominant passing attack.

They’ve found a solid starter in rookie Isiah Pacheco. He was one of my favorite sleepers in this draft class, and I wanted the Broncos to draft him on day three of the 2022 NFL Draft. Pacheco had a 100-yard game two weeks ago, but last week he still had a good game with 69 yards rushing, 17 yards receiving and one rushing touchdown. If the Chiefs can run effectively as they have over the last two weeks with Pacheco, they can beat an opponent in any way possible.

The Chiefs did make a risky move this week by adding a familiar player to Broncos fans. Free-agent running back Melvin Gordon was signed to the Chiefs’ practice squad on Tuesday. Gordon fumbled his way out of a job with the Broncos and now he’s buried deep on the depth chart with the Chiefs.

A fresh start could be good for Gordon to get the mental side of his game right. However, he could also fumble at a key moment if he’s out there as a reserve player for the Chiefs. Gordon will fumble, and for a team in a Super Bowl window that could be disastrous in the playoffs.

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Las Vegas Raiders

The Raiders got right against the Broncos a couple of weeks ago, and now they’ve won two games in a row. After beating the Broncos in Week 11, the Raiders were able to beat the Seahawks in overtime in Week 12. They are winning with offense, and a big piece of what they do on that side of the ball falls on the shoulders of running back Josh Jacobs.

While the Broncos were unable to stop Jacobs, the Seahawks took things to another level. Jacobs became only the seventh player in the Super Bowl era to have 300 yards from scrimmage in one game. He had 229 yards rushing, finishing off the Seahawks with an 86-yard touchdown run in overtime to win the game. Add in his 74 yards receiving, and you can see how Jacobs was unstoppable in Week 12.

The crazy part is that Jacobs was able to do this while dealing with a calf injury. Jacobs was questionable last week before the Seahawks game. This week, Jacobs is not expected to practice much, if at all. He’s receiving around-the-clock treatment in hopes of playing in Week 13 with a calf strain. As a free agent in 2023, Jacobs is set to make huge money in the offseason if he can get there healthy. The Raiders aren’t going anywhere, but they should plan on making a deal for Jacobs if they can.

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Los Angeles Chargers

The Chargers are over .500 with a 6-5 record. They’re a good team who don’t yet know how to win consistently.

This week, the Chargers play a 4-7 Raiders team that is on a roll. While the Raiders seem to be hitting their stride, the Chargers are still up and down when it comes to their performance. Quarterback Justin Herbert is a superstar, but he can only do so much. Herbert has had an ever-changing set of wide receivers to throw to.

Veteran wideout Keenan Allen is back in action for the Chargers, and he had five catches for 49 yards and one touchdown last week against the Cardinals. While Allen is back, the team is still waiting for Mike Williams to get healthy. Williams (ankle) did not participate in practice on Wednesday. Without Williams, the Chargers have had to turn to guys like Josh Palmer and DeAndre Carter.

In fact, it was Carter who led the team in receiving last week. Carter has shown great explosiveness as a receiver filling in this season. He caught seven passes for 73 yards and one touchdown. Palmer chipped in with five catches for 56 yards against the Cardinals. With the emergence of Carter and Palmer, the Chargers don’t have to rush Williams back into action.

No matter who is out there catching passes from Herbert, this team needs to learn how to win consistently. The upstart Raiders, with only two fewer wins than them, will be more of a challenge than some think in Week 13.

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