Las Vegas Raiders: AFC West Round up after 2023 Week 1

The Las Vegas Raiders are sitting on top of the AFC West with the win against the Denver Broncos in Week 1 as the Kansas City Chiefs fell to the Detroit Lions, and the Los Angeles Chargers fell to the Miami Dolphins.

As of today, these are the standings for the AFC West:

So far the Las Vegas Raiders are sitting on top of the AFC West but barely. The NFL has divisional rankings by record, then divisional record, then by net points. So far, the Raiders are top in all three categories.

Although the Raiders have lost Jakobi Meyers to the concussion protocol.

However, the Chiefs are sitting in second place and could struggle next week when they play the Jacksonville Jaguars who are no longer a circle-win team like they have been in the past. The Jags are coming off a nice win against the Indianapolis Colts who were outmatched on offense and on defense.

Raiders beat Denver to become only AFC West team to win Week 1

The Denver Broncos lost to the Las Vegas Raiders by one point and really had a good chance to win the game multiple times. The Denver defense played very well against the Raiders and had their number the entire game.

The Chargers are a team that is up and down right now. The Dolphins didn't play well enough to score over 35 points and the Chargers defense is still one of the worst in the league. The Dolphins smoked the Chargers defense and laid the groundwork for how to beat them.

The AFC West is still competitive and is open for the taking. The next opponents for the Raiders are in Buffalo against the Bills next week and then against the Steelers in Pittsburgh on Sunday Night Football.

If the Raiders come out of this three-game stretch at 2-1 they will be pretty good but if they come out of that stretch at 1-2, things may not be going as well. After that, they play in Los Angeles against the Chargers, and then in Week 5 they are at home against the Packers for the second home game of the season.