During the Peyton Manning years, the Denver Broncos dominated and controlled the AFC West. Unfortunately, ever since they won Super Bowl 50, the AFC West has been controlled by Andy Reid, Patrick Mahomes, and the Kansas City Chiefs. They have won nine straight AFC West Titles and during that stretch, have won three Super Bowl titles. Not only have they dominated the AFC West, but they have been the team to beat in the AFC ever since quarterback Patrick Mahomes took over as the starting quarterback.
With our sportsbook partner being FanDuel Sportsbook, I went over there to check to see who has the best odds to win the AFC West this upcoming season. The Chiefs are once again the favorite, but FanDuel has the Broncos right on their tail with the second-best odds.
As expected, the Chiefs, who have 9 straight AFC West titles and are viewed as the team to beat in the AFC, have the best odds to win the division. They still have Andy Reid, Patrick Mahomes, and a defense that will play its best ball in key games and will be a problem for teams this upcoming season.
The Chiefs finished the preseason 0-3, but that is not a concern. Patrick Mahomes looked great when he was out there. They have depth at wide receiver, and while the offensive line has question marks, they eased some concerns with a solid showing vs. the Bears in the finale. On the defensive side, Steve Spagnuolo has won multiple Super Bowls during his career and will have this defense at its best come December and January.
Despite finishing the preseason 0-3, the Chiefs will be the team to beat in the AFC and the AFC West once again this upcoming season.
The Denver Broncos have gone from a surprise underdog to that fast-rising team that is receiving some Super Bowl contender hype from fans and media. So, it is not a huge surprise that they have the second-best odds to win the division. This is a Sean Payton led team that has a promising-looking second-year quarterback in Bo Nix, playmakers at wide receiver and tight end, multiple young players looking to breakout, a revamped rushing attack, and a top-ranked offensive line. On top of that, they may have the best defense in the NFL with the reigning AP Defensive Player of the Year, cornerback Pat Surtain II, in the secondary, with a pass rush that led the entire NFL in sacks last season. Oh yeah, they went out and added Dre Greenlaw, Talanoa Hufanga, and drafted cornerback Jahdae Barron in the first round of the draft.
During the preseason, the Broncos have shown off their depth on their roster by going undefeated and dominating all three teams they have faced. They saw breakout performances by players like wide receiver Troy Franklin and rookie Pat Bryant, and they saw their depth at pass rusher really stand out as well. This depth will be needed if they want to contend for an AFC West title, and we will see if they can finally dethrone the Chiefs.
Broncos Country is eager to see how this team looks come week 1 of the regular season.
Los Angeles Chargers: +320
The Chargers are behind the Broncos with the third-best odds and are coming off a solid opening season with Head Coach Jim Harbaugh. Now in year two, the team will look to make a jump in the division and challenge the Chiefs for the AFC West title. They have quarterback Justin Herbert returning with a strong rushing attack that will be led by first-round pick Omarion Hampton and a defense that will attack offenses and play you tough. They always play the Chiefs tough and went 2-0 vs. the Broncos last season, so they could be legit contenders for the AFC West crown.
Due to playing in the Hall of Fame Game, the Chargers played one extra preseason game, but they used this extra game to give their depth some extra reps. One player who took advantage of this was backup quarterback Trey Lance. The former top 5 pick looked good and is now pushing for the backup quarterback job in Jim Harbaugh’s offense. However, they did lose their star left tackle, Rashawn Slater, during training camp for the season due to a torn patellar tendon. This is a big loss to the Chargers, and we will see how their offensive line handles this loss throughout the year.
Like the Broncos, they are on the heels of the Chiefs and are looking to dethrone them as AFC West champs.
The Raiders went out and hired soon-to-be 74-year-old Pete Carroll to help them get out of the basement of the AFC West. He will look to build a winning culture and get the team back on track after a disappointing past few seasons. While the Raiders appear to be a work in progress, they have added tight end Brock Bowers and running back Ashton Jeanty to this team over the past two offseasons and have given themselves two dominant playmakers to build around. They also went out and added veteran quarterback Geno Smith to stabilize their quarterback room moving forward. They may be a work in progress and longshots to win the division, but they could be a sneaky team to do better than most anticipate this upcoming season.
Unfortunately, the Raiders did not win a preseason game; however, they did show some promise, which should have fans excited about their future. Rookie running back Ashton Jeanty looks like the real deal, tight end Brock Bowers is already a top 3 tight end in the league, and they saw rookie wide receiver Dont’e Thornton Jr. show promise.
While the Raiders are long shots for the division, they have the pieces to play teams tough each and every week and could become AFC West contenders in the very near future.
FanDuel Sportsbook is conducting FanDuel Futures Day on Tuesday, August 26, where you can get profit boost tokens around various futures markets throughout the day. The markets will be split up throughout the day, but they will include odds to win the Super Bowl and hypothetical Super Bowl matchups, odds to make or miss the playoffs, win totals, division winners, and player milestones. Head over to FanDuel Sportsbook on Tuesday to take advantage of FanDuel Futures Day.