AFC West Roundup: Week 12

A weekly update on the AFC West, to keep up with the Oakland Raiders and the rest of the division.

The AFC West continues to be very competitive, with the Raiders sitting on top at 9-2 and the Chiefs right behind at 8-3. The Chiefs beat the Raiders in Oakland back in October, but the Raiders will have their chance for revenge next Thursday in a pivotal meeting in Arrowhead.

The Broncos were the real losers out of last weekend, literally and figuratively. Because they played the Chiefs one of them had to lose (or did they? More on that later…) and Denver was on the wrong end of a 30-27 overtime defeat.

That leaves the Broncos at 7-4, two games out with five to play. They even lost their hold on the second wild-card spot to the Dolphins. The Chiefs currently occupy the first wild-card spot.

The Chargers won again as well and don’t seem to want to go quietly into that good night. Philip Rivers put turnovers behind him and the defense continued their improvement as the Chargers handed the Texans their first home loss in Houston, 21-13.

That put the Chargers at 5-6 and has them talking potential playoffs. While that’s a long shot with Miami, Baltimore, Pittsburgh and the other AFC West teams in the mix, it’s not as crazy as it sounded a couple of weeks ago.

Things are heating up and with a lot of divisional football left, the AFC West promises to remain one of the most intriguing and entertaining divisions in football.