Categories: Paul Pulley

Chiefs: An Early Look at the AFC West and Their Non-Common Foes

An Early Look at the AFC West

and Their Non-Common Foes

by Paul Pulley

Each season, every division in the NFL has 14 out of 16 common opponents. The other two games are against the two divisions not scheduled to play each other from the same conference. These games are based on the previous years rankings where the first place teams from each division play each other, the second place teams all compete, etc.

Since the AFC West is playing the AFC North in 2018, our non-common opponents will come from the AFC East and the AFC South.

As we all know, the Chiefs are the returning AFC West division champions, therefore we will be playing the 2017 first place team from the AFC East, the New England Patriots and the 2017 first place team from the AFC South, the Jacksonville Jaguars.

The NFL was not kind to the Chiefs when scheduling these two games as they will be back to back on October 7th and October 14th.

After playing the Broncos in Denver on Monday night October 1st, the Chiefs will return home to face the visiting Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday the 7th, week 5. Jacksonville will visit Arrowhead after hosting the New York Jets, Sunday, September 30th. I don’t think Blake Bortles and the Jaguars passing game is going to scare anyone, but they can still be problematic if the Chiefs new defensive backfield has yet to gel. This will most likely be a huge test for the Chiefs new run defense but by week 5, the Chiefs new D should be working as a unit. The Chiefs offense will have their work cut out for them as the Jaguars are returning the 2nd ranked defense from last year.

The following week the Chiefs travel to Foxborough to play the Patriots on Sunday night October 14th, week 6. The Patriots with Tom Brady as their QB and Bill Belichick as their head coach are the media darlings to win it all once again. The Patriots will be coming off a mini bye week having hosted the Indianapolis Colts on Thursday night October 4th. If the Chiefs offense led by new QB Patrick Mahomes is firing on all cylinders, this could turn into a shootout as New Englands defense was just as bad as Kansas City’s last year. If there is one team and one coach that seems to have the Patriots number during the regular season, it’s Andy Reid and the Chiefs.

I believe these two games are a toss up and the Chiefs will be doing good if they split these two. They will be doing great if they can win both but these are going to be two very tough games. On the other hand, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Chiefs lose both.

The Los Angeles Chargers

The LA Chargers were the 2nd place team in the AFC West last year, so they will be playing the AFC East 2nd place Buffalo Bills and the AFC South 2nd place Tennessee Titans.

The Chargers play their home opener against the Chiefs in week 1 and then travel to Buffalo to play the Bills in week 2, September 16th. This will be Buffalo’s home opener after visiting the Baltimore Ravens in week 1. Buffalo has their new starting QB, AJ McCarron under center with 1st round draft pick QB Josh Allen waiting in the wings. It’s hard to imagine the Bills winning this game.

The Chargers will play the Tennessee Titans in week 7, October 21st. This will be a “home” game for the Chargers, played at Wembley Stadium in London. The Chargers will be traveling to London after visiting the Cleveland Browns on October 14th, while the Titans will be coming off a home game versus the Baltimore Ravens. I think Tennessee will come away with the victory in this one.

The Oakland Raiders

The 3rd place Raiders will be playing the AFC East 3rd place Miami Dolphins and the AFC South 3rd place Indianapolis Colts.

The Raiders will be traveling to Miami on September 23rd, week 3, after visiting the Broncos in Denver the previous week. Miami will be returning home after visiting their division rival New York Jets on September 16th. It’s hard to tell what Miami’s offense is going to look like with starting QB Ryan Tannehill returning from ACL surgery last August and with new WRs Danny Amendola and Albert Wilson along with rookie TE Mike Gesicki. Miami’s defense was middle of the pack last year and shouldn’t be any worse.

With the Raiders season opener against the Los Angeles Rams, it’s very possible Oakland starts the season 0-3.

The Raiders will host the Indianapolis Colts week 8, October 28th, following their bye week. The Colts will be traveling to Oakland after hosting the Buffalo Bills the prior week. With the Raiders coming off their bye and playing at home, even if the Colts QB Andrew Luck is healthy and playing well, I think the Raiders will win this one.

The Denver Broncos

In 2018 the cellar dwelling Broncos will get to play the AFC East 4th place New York Jets and the AFC South 4th place Houston Texans.

The Broncos will be traveling to New York to face the Jets October 7th, week 5, on a short week after hosting the Chiefs on Monday night October 1st. The Jets will be returning home after playing the Jacksonville Jaguars the previous week. This will likely be a QB battle between Case Keenum and Josh McCown. I’m guessing this game won’t be televised nationally, but with Denver traveling on a short week, the Jets have a real chance to win this one.

November 4th, week 9, the Broncos play host to the Houston Texans. Denver will be returning home from playing the Chiefs in Arrowhead October 28th, while the Texans will be coming off a mini bye after hosting the Miami Dolphins on Thursday night October 25th. I think if Houston can stay mostly healthy this year, they will be a very hard team to beat and I believe they will win this game.

One thing about being the best is you have to play the best, which is what gives the Chiefs the hardest schedule, but considering the alternatives, there is no other way to have it. Playing these tougher non-common games makes winning divisional games very important.

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