For yet another week, the Denver Broncos sit atop of the AFC West after Sunday’s comeback win against the Houston Texans. Now they find themselves in a unique position, with an AFC West divisional matchup coming up on Thursday Night Football.
State of the AFC West after Week 9
- 1st: Denver Broncos (7-2) after 18-15 win vs. Houston Texans
- 2nd: Los Angeles Chargers (6-3) after 27-20 win vs. Tennessee Titans
- 3rd: Kansas City Chiefs (5-4) after 28-21 loss to the Buffalo Bills
- 4th: Las Vegas Raiders (2-6) after 30-29 loss to Jacksonville Jaguars
Right now, the Broncos have a nice cushion ahead of Kansas City, a slight lead against the Chargers, and a huge gap between themselves and the Raiders.
That makes Thursday’s game even more important for Denver, with a chance to win another AFC game and add a win to their divisional record.
The Raiders are coming off a loss to the Jaguars in overtime that saw the return of Brock Bowers, who went off for 12 catches for over 100+ yards and three touchdowns.
He was their best weapon, and Denver will face him without Patrick Surtain II, who has erased him in his only two previous matchups against the Broncos.
A win vs. the Raiders gives Denver an 8-2 record before they face off against the Kansas City Chiefs the week after, in a game that could define a turning point for the division and Denver’s chances of winning it.
The Broncos are very much in control of their own destiny inside the division.
Chargers still lurking, but hurting
The Chargers hung on 27-20 against the Tennessee Titans on the road and also lost offensive tackle Joe Alt, who recently returned from an injury that held him out of action. He was carted off.
On top of that, the Chargers’ running back room is decimated with injuries, and they’ll face the Pittsburgh Steelers, who are coming off an impressive 27-20 win over the top-seeded Indianapolis Colts.
Broncos fans should be rooting for Pittsburgh this week.
Kansas City will go into their bye week looking to get healthy before facing off against the Broncos.
