Teams coming back from the bye in Week Nine; who is best placed?
Amidst all the hype surrounding the AFC West potentially being the best division in the league, it seems that the status quo has not changed. The Chiefs remain the best team of the four divisional rivals. At 5-2, it is expected that they will go on and secure the division while the other three teams struggle for fix major issues to help gain some consistency.
The Chargers are a game back at 4-3, but are injury depleted and have struggled on both sides of the ball.
Kansas City Chiefs
Kansas City remain the best team in the division, despite the noise surrounding the rest of their rivals. Questions were raised before the start of the season after the Chiefs traded Tyreek Hill to the Dolphins.
But in fact a case can be made that the offense has improved, with more depth for Mahomes to spread the ball around. Mahomes leads the league in touchdowns and the has a higher yards per attempt and yards per completion last season.
The offense is second in touchdowns scored, with free agent signings Marquez Valdes-Scantling and JuJu Smith-Schuster fitting in nicely with rookie Skyy Moore. The Chiefs added to their receiving core by acquiring misfit 2021 second rounder Kadarius Toney from the Giants. Outside an error-stricken loss at the Colts and a 24-20 home loss to the Bills, Chiefs fans can be pleased with their performances so far.
As ever, Steve Spagnuolo’s unit is well coached and consistently creates turnovers and stops when needed. A Sunday night football home match up with the Titans provides a stern test. The Titans match up well with the Chiefs and have the defense to make it a scrappy affair, but the Chiefs defense will likely feast if Malik Willis has to start with a Titans offense ranked nearly bottom in most categories accept rushing and red zone efficiency.
Andy Reid off a bye week is one of the best coaches in the league, so will be able to make a plan to stop Derrick Henry with an improved stop unit ranked 7th. The secondary has been a weakness this season but will likely not be troubled against one of the worst passing attacks in the league.
Los Angeles Charges
Chargers fans are probably stuck in a conundrum, with their team at 4-3 and in a good position to make the playoffs, but mounting injuries, lack of consistency and questions still out perhaps on their head coach, the season could end up being a disappointment.
They have gone 3-1 in one possession games, an improvement on last year, with an agonising 27-24 defeat at the Chiefs in Week Two no disgrace. They edged the Raiders and Broncos at home in games they could have made more comfortable, while prevailing 30-28 at the Browns in Week Five.
The losses have been more concerning however; conceding 38 and 37 to the Jaguars and Seahawks respectively is troubling for a defense that on paper was meant to be stronger than last year. Injuries have hit the Chargers hard, the offense particularly affected with Keenan Allen, Mike Williams and Donald Parnham all out this week for the trip to Atlanta.
Kicker has been a revolving door with Dustin Hopkins and Taylor Bertolet injured, while JC Jackson is out for the season and Joey Bosa expected back in Week 13. A lot to contend with as the Chargers face a Falcons team who run the ball well but themselves have injuries in the secondary.
The Falcons lack juice in the pass rush and the defense has allowed the most passing yards per game The Chargers are last in rush defense, allowing 5.7 YPC, while Austin Ekeler leads the team in targets. Do not be surprised if this comes down to a field goal at the end of regulation.
