NFL Network reporter makes case for AFC West being toughest division in 2021
The Chiefs won the AFC West last season by a whopping six games over the second-place Raiders.
The margin was slightly smaller in 2019 when the Chiefs took the division crown by five games over the Broncos and Raiders. In both instances, the Chiefs were the only AFC West team with a winning record.
Here are the records in the AFC West over the previous two seasons:
Chiefs 26-6
Raiders 15-17
Broncos 12-20
Chargers 12-20
That’s domination, right? Well, an NFL Network reporter thinks the road to a division title, which would be the Chiefs’ sixth straight, won’t be as easy for KC in 2021.
Tom Pelissero was on “Good Morning Football” last week and was asked which division will be the toughest in 2021.
“All right, is it blasphemous if I say the AFC West will be the most competitive division in the NFL? And I’m not suggesting this is going to be a fall off for Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs,” Pelissero said. “They’re set up for success for years to come. When you look at that Chargers team, adding guys like Corey Linsley, you have a bright young quarterback in Justin Herbert, you’ve got all those high picks on defense from Joey Bosa to Derwin James, if he can stay healthy, and (coach) Brandon Staley coming in who’s a really bright defensive mind. They should be much improved on that side of the ball.
“Look at the Raiders. Nobody knows who’s blocking for anybody at this point, they’ve got to put some pieces in place there. But you would think, you would hope, that at this stage when Jon Gruden, you’re in kind of make-or-break time, they should be taking a step forward here.
“And then you’ve got the Broncos who have been sort of this sleeping team in that division. You’ve got Vic Fangio, who of course, is brilliant with defense. They’ve invested a ton of resources into the secondary with Kyle Fuller. They extend Justin Simmons. They bring in Ronald Darby. The big question there’s just going to be the quarterback. They think they’ve got something with Drew Lock, not that he’s walking in the door as the sure-fire starter but they think that they may have something there. Those skill guys have gotten healthy. It may not be a matter of somebody overtaking the Chiefs but could all those teams be competitive in the AFC West picture? It wouldn’t surprise me.”
Kyle Brandt told Pelissero the Broncos must figure out their quarterback situation.
“Is Drew Lock the guy who’s going to Arrowhead and coming back with a win? I just don’t know.” Brandt said. “And I don’t see what the other option is. So we’re in a league right now., it’s like if you don’t have a winning quarterback, like, you aren’t doing it. We’re not into it. And I think they got to figure that out. Because I don’t know if that’s the guy.
Nate Burleson said any talk of the AFC West has to boil down to this: can you beat the Chiefs?
Pelissero said the rest of the division has been working this offseason to offset the Chiefs’ powerful offense.
“What’s the common thread of the moves everybody else the AFC West has made? It’s defense,” Pelissero said. “The Raiders hire Gus Bradley to install a new scheme. He’s a well-respected defensive coach. They’ve invested resources there. Denver, everything into the defense, specifically the secondary to try to slow down that passing game.
“And then the Chargers hire a coach when the defensive background in Brandon Stanley. Again, I’m not saying anybody’s gonna overtake the Chiefs here. I just think it’s going to be a much more competitive division. It’s going to be compelling in 2021.”
You can watch the discussion about the Chiefs and the entire AFC West race here.
