It was not a good season for the Oakland Raiders, but it was a good year overall for the AFC West, as two teams made it to the playoffs.
The 2018 regular season came to an end this past Sunday, and two teams from the AFC West will be moving on to the postseason.
Starting with the Kansas City Chiefs who finished off the season by putting a beating on Oakland Raiders 35-3. The Chiefs finished first in the AFC with a 12-4 record and will have a first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout which puts them in the ideal position to make a playoff push.
For Oakland, it was another season that ended in disappointment as they find themselves ready to begin another rebuild. A 4-12 record will give them the fourth pick in the NFL, and this offseason is huge for Jon Gruden and company.
The Los Angeles Chargers will also be part of the postseason as they too finished 12-4 and will face the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday. They ended the regular season beating the Denver Broncos in Mile High 23-9 to get their 7th road victory which tied them for most in the NFL with the New Orleans Saints.
Denver, on the other hand, will be facing many questions this season starting with who will coach them as Vance Joseph was fired Monday. And how they can bounce back from their first back to back losing seasons since 1971-72.
Here is a look at the final standings for the AFC West
Kansas City Chiefs (12-4 overall, 5-1 in AFC West)
Los Angeles Chargers (12-4 overall, 4-2 in AFC West)
Denver Broncos (6-10 overall, 2-4 in AFC West)
Oakland Raiders (4-12 overall, 1-5 in AFC West)
This is how the AFC West finished in the final ESPN regular season rankings as well.
- 2. Kansas City Chiefs (Previous Week: 3)
- 5. Los Angeles Chargers (Previous Week: 4)
- 21. Denver Broncos (Previous Week: 20)
- 31. Oakland Raiders (Previous Week: 31)
The attention now turns to the playoffs, where the Chargers will kick off the AFC West action this weekend against Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens at home. The Chiefs have the No. 1 overall seed in the AFC, and will wait until next weekend to begin their Super Bowl quest inside Arrowhead Stadium, where the road to the Super Bowl goes through this year.