2015 NFL Predictions: AFC West
This is part of an ongoing 8-part series predicting the 2015 NFL season.
Making these predictions are a headache. It’s almost futile to say who is “good” and who is “bad” at this point in the season, but I will give it a reasonable shot.
AFC West Prediction
- Broncos*
- Chiefs*
- Chargers
- Raiders
The question is: does Peyton Manning still have enough gas left in the tank for a trip to the Super Bowl? Maybe. But I won’t bet against Manning and his Denver Broncos taking the AFC West again this year. However, it won’t be as easy as it has in the past.
Gary Kubiak comes to Denver and has at least 2 RBs in C.J. Anderson and Ronnie Hillman that he can hitch his saddles to. That should help in the event Manning has had a decline in his physical ability. Where Manning truly excels is his approach to the game: if he’s physically capable, I’d believe he could play into his 50’s!
Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders should put up huge numbers again, and while Julius Thomas left for Jacksonville, a number of TEs will catch balls from Peyton, just like they have in the past. It will be business as usual.
The Bronco defense will still be solid as well. But on their heels is the defense of the Kansas City Chiefs, who have reloaded with resigning their own free agents, the return of players to good health and the patching of the secondary in the draft. The biggest acquisition for KC is WR Jeremy Maclin, who had a huge year with the Eagles last year, and is no stranger to coach Andy Reid. Maclin immediately upgrades a receiving unit which failed to catch a touchdown pass last season. Despite that anomaly, Alex Smith still threw for 18 TDs and only had 6 interceptions. Jamaal Charles, a recipient of 5 of those scores, is always a threat to top 2000 all-purpose yards: almost a given with any RB in an Andy Reid supervised offense.
I think the Chiefs are trending upward so much, they could be within a game of grabbing the division crown from Denver. They’re this years Bengals-Steelers finish. (That is, unless, they lockup a playoff spot entirely, then Reid will sit everyone, including the starting water boy.)
A lot of people have the San Diego Chargers higher up the chart: I don’t. Philip Rivers puts up numbers, both good and bad, but he still doesn’t quite have the surrounding cast he needs to make the leap. Coupled with Denver and KC in the same division, and the Chargers are the odd-man out. Melvin Gordon is full of hype, but the preseason didn’t live up to that billing. I think he has a slow start and comes on strong in the final 6-8 games.
Not coming on at all are the Oakland Raiders. They may compete with the Chargers to see who moves to Los Angeles, and that’s about it. Don’t get me wrong, I like the direction the Raiders are headed, but they are still off the beaten path when it comes to having the talent necessary to compete with the remainder of the division (and the NFL as a whole.)
