Made up of the San Diego Chargers, Kansas City Chiefs, Oakland Raiders and Denver Broncos, the AFC West has gone from one of the most infuriating sports betting divisions to a rather intriguing division. From 2004 to 2009 NFL betting lines makes could be assured of a divisional crown for the San Diego Chargers, as to put it lightly, they dominated the AFC West. As a result of their dominance, fans and experts were getting annoyed, because San Diego could get the job done during the regular season, but constantly disappointed in the playoffs. With the success of the Kansas City Chiefs and emergence of the Oakland Raiders last year, we got to thinking, could an AFC West team actually win the Super Bowl this season?In 2010, the AFC West had a changing of the guard, as the Kansas City Chiefs led by quarterback wide receiver tandem, Matt Cassel and Dwayne Bowe, came out of seemingly nowhere to win the division. Kansas City was one of the highest scoring teams in the NFL last season, as they literally lit up opponents in a similar fashion to AFC rivals the Indianapolis Colts.
Another team with much success last season was the Oakland Raiders, who for the first time in roughly eight years, were able to finish with a 500 record. The Raiders, a team with one of the biggest fan bases in sports, finally gave their loyal patrons something to cheer about, as they went undefeated against the AFC West last season. The only issue was, similar to CFL team the Toronto Argonauts, the Raiders stunk against the rest of the league, going a measly two and eight.
San Diego and Denver by all accounts took steps back in 2010, but look to be improved heading into this season. The Chargers led by quarterback Philip Rivers, had one of the best defenses in the league, but one of the worst offenses. Rivers himself had an impressive season, but his wide receivers were nothing to write home about.
Denver had plans of building on the 2009 season, in which they won the first six games of the season. However, due to several locker room issues that affected team chemistry, Denver would have a disastrous 2010 campaign.
Entering the 2011 – 12 seasons, the AFC West has the potential to be one of the most exciting divisions in all of football. Kansas City and Oakland showed a ton of progress in their team’s development and will look to go from middle of the pack to contender status this year. San Diego should have an improved offense which should keep them competitive. Denver is the wildcard of the division, as anything will be better than last season.
In theory, the AFC West could have two teams qualify for the playoffs this year, one of which should be able to make it to the Super Bowl. Will this be the year San Diego finally parts ways with the choke artist label, or will Kansas City, Oakland or Denver make it back to the Super Bowl?
