News » Ranking the 2018 AFC West: Full teams

After chipping away at this series throughout the offseason Womens Frostee Rucker Jersey , the season is upon us so it’s time to wrap it up. Based on a position by position analysis here is how I see the teams in the AFC West stacking up based on talent.Best offense - Tie: Oakland Raiders/San Diego ChargersI looked at these two teams from every angle I could find in order to break the tie and I couldn’t find a separating factor. The Chargers have the best quarterback in the division in Philip Rivers, but Derek Carr is next in line for the Raiders. At tackle, the two teams are at opposite ends of the spectrum, with the Chargers duo of Russell Okung and Joe Barksdale bookending a group that gave up the fewest sacks in the league last year (18). The former Raider Barksdale didn’t give up a sack at all. Meanwhile the Raiders tackle situation is the most suspect in the division with rookie Kolton Miller handed the responsibility at left tackle and Donald Penn switching sides for the first time in his long career. Where the Raiders make up some ground is with their elite interior line trio of Kelechi Osemele, Rodney Hudson, and Gabe Jackson. Both offenses also benefit from having offensive minded head coaches.Second runner-up - Kansas City ChiefsWhile the Chiefs are starting a new young quarterback which brings a lot of uncertainties, he will have a couple of elite weapons at his disposal. The Chiefs have the division’s best running back in Kareem Hunt and best tight end in Travis Kelce. They also added wide receiver Sammy Watkins to go along with the lethal weapon that is Tyreek Hill. As for the line, they aren’t all-world, but they may have the most balance of any team in the division, with solid though not elite talent across much of the line.Dead last - Denver BroncosI don’t want to underestimate Case Keenum too much. He did some good things with the Vikings last season. He just isn’t on the level of Rivers and Carr and must prove it for more than just one season. What he does have is the division’s top receiving corps. Courtland Sutton is a fantastic young talent who joins Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders. After that, there’s nothing special about the Broncos offense. They are lackluster at running back and tight end and along the line as well. Though guard Ronald Leary and center Matt Paradis are very good, the rest of the line is a bit of a question mark.Best Defense - Denver BroncosFrom worst to first when you switch to the other side of the ball. Even with Aqib Talib gone, they still have the best cornerbacks in the division led by Chris Harris Jr and Bradley Roby. They also have the best nose tackle in Domata Peko. The rest of their defensive line and linebackers are also very good including some guy named Von Miller who is joined by fifth overall pick Bradley Chubb which has the potential to give the Broncos another elite pass rush. Just what we need. Runner-up - Kansas City ChiefsThey have the best defensive interior, best linebackers, and best safeties in the division. All that has them not far behind the Broncos as the division’s top defense. If they had more than just Justin Houston to rush the passer, that would make all the difference. But they do have a solid interior duo of Chris Jones and Allen Bailey. They were confident enough in Reggie Ragland and Anthony Hitchens to let Derrick Johnson walk. And of course there’s always Eric Berry patrolling the deep part of the field.Second runner-up - San Diego ChargersWhat the Chargers have is the best pass rushing duo in the division. And that’s saying a lot. Melvin Ingram and Joey Bosa are a nightmare around the edges for opposing offenses. What the Chargers don’t have is much else. They may have challenged the Broncos for the best corners, but then they lost Jason Verrett (again) to injury. But Casey Hayward is no slouch. Also pairing rookie safety Derwin James with Jahleel Addae at the safety spot could be quite good.Dead last - Oakland RaidersThis is a no-doubter. Every part of the Raiders defensive unit is suspect. There was one part that was elite. That was the pass rush. But with the removal of Khalil Mack, that pass rush threat went from rivaling the Chargers and Broncos to the worst in the division. They don’t have a single position on the defense that is the best in the division. The linebackers feature a 35-year-old castoff and a journeyman backup, but Tahir Whitehead could be good. They appear to have upgraded the cornerbacks with Gareon Conley and Rashaan Melvin as the starters, but will be without third corner Daryl Worley for the first four games. And it’s possible the two interior defensive linemen PJ Hall and Maurice Hurst could produce early on. Hard to count on rookies to make the difference right away though.Most talented overall1. Kansas City ChiefsThis actually surprised me. But in the end, the Chiefs do what they often do — show themselves to be one of the more balanced teams in the division. And if Pat Mahomes can turn his obvious physical talent into playmaking on the field Youth Gabe Jackson Jersey , they could have something. The Chiefs have hung around for years, mainly because Any Reid is a good coach. But they always seem to choke when it counts. The talent seems to be there, though.2. San Diego ChargersThe offseason favorite to win the division title. They are often an offseason favorite and then get snakebit by injuries or terrible coaching. Anthony Lynn led this team to a 9-7 record in his first season as head coach. With a little bit of luck going his way, they could make another step forward.3. Denver BroncosThey stuck with Case Keenum instead of going after a QB in the draft. That may or may not have been the right decision, but what a draft they had. Getting the top pass rusher in Bradley Chubb at five, one of the best receivers in this draft in Courtland Sutton in the second, Oregon All-time leading rusher Royce Freeman in the third and outstanding slot receiver talent Daesean Hamilton in the third. It’s hard to predict how rookies will perform, so they may not make a lot of noise right away. But with the talent they still have on this defense, if they could get some production from the offense, they could make a push. Though the jury is still very much out on if Vance Joseph is the coach who can make that happen.4. Oakland RaidersThis team is bipolar. They have some great talent on the offense along with an offensive minded head coach in Jon Gruden. Though the tackle situation threatens to be a major issue and the wide receiver corps is not nearly as deep or talented as it seemed back in May. But overall, a good unit returning most starters. Then they have a defense that could end up having just one position with a returning starter — Justin Ellis. Bruce Irvin also returns, having switched to defensive end from outside linebacker. And he will now be without his All-World pass rushing partner, Khalil Mack. The two of them were just about all the defense had going for it the past couple years. Now there’s just serious questions. Bringing in Paul Guenther as the defensive coordinator will help, but he’s only going to be as good as the personnel he has to work with. And that ain’t a whole lot.Follow @LeviDamien The Chicago Bears came into the season believing they were ready to start returning the favor after taking their lumps in recent years.The gut punch they absorbed in last week's primetime opener? That's one they didn't envision.The Bears will be back under the lights again, looking to pick themselves up against Russell Wilson and the Seattle Seahawks on Monday night in a matchup between teams that blew fourth-quarter leads last week.With four straight last-place finishes in the NFC North but a surge in optimism following a busy offseason, the Bears seemed poised to knock off Green Bay at Lambeau Field, only to lose 24-23 to their rivals. Newcomer Khalil Mack led a dominant defense as the Bears built a 20-0 lead. But a hobbled Aaron Rodgers threw three touchdown passes in the second half to spoil Matt Nagy's debut as Chicago's coach."That kind of makes it tougher, too, because you know how much you put into it and how close you came," guard Kyle Long said. "It was in reach, well within reach. But at the end of the day Authentic Tahir Whitehead Jersey , you've got to move on."The same goes for Seattle, a 27-24 loser at Denver last week. The Seahawks grabbed a four-point lead early in the fourth quarter, gave up a touchdown on the Broncos' next drive and gained 3 yards in their final three possessions."It was really an enormous missed opportunity for us to do something special and get that win," coach Pete Carroll said.Here are some things to know as the Bears and Seahawks eye their first wins:NEW ADDITIONMack makes his first appearance at Soldier Field as a member of the Bears. And if he performs the way he did last week, Chicago will certainly take it.The two-time All-Pro came through with a strip-sack that led to a turnover and a 27-yard interception return for a touchdown against backup quarterback DeShone Kizer. He also had pressure in the backfield on the play when Rodgers injured his left knee.This will be the second game for Mack at Soldier Field. With the Raiders in October 2015, he sacked Jay Cutler on the final drive. But Robbie Gould kicked a 49-yard field goal in the closing seconds to give the Bears a 22-20 victory over the Raiders and their first win under former coach John Fox.SAFETY VALVEDoug Baldwin has been the player Wilson has looked to for help in key situations throughout their careers together. Baldwin is expected to miss at least a couple of weeks after suffering an MCL injury in his right knee in the opener. Wilson must find another go-to option in the passing game.It could be veteran Brandon Marshall, who caught three passes including a touchdown in the opener . It could be Tyler Lockett, who also had a touchdown catch against the Broncos. Or it could be rookie tight end Will Dissly, who had three catches for 105 yards and a touchdown in the opener."It's hard to tackle a guy that weighs 270 pounds running down the field. Big catches too, good tough catches," Carroll said of Dissly. "He showed us that he's got really good hands."BEHIND CENTERBears quarterback Mitchell Trubisky had a shaky opener.The No. 2 overall draft pick last year, he missed a throw on a fade pattern to a wide-open Allen Robinson in the end zone and was too quick to scramble rather than stay in the pocket at times. He also couldn't move the Bears past midfield, let alone into field goal range, in the closing minutes after Green Bay scored the go-ahead touchdown.Trubisky finished 23 of 35 for 171 yards and a 77.2 passer rating.SACK ATTACKSeattle gave up six sacks in the opener, but at least half of those could be blamed on Wilson not trusting his protection and running into trouble. It made for a challenging game to assess the performance of an offensive line that has regularly been an issue the past few seasons.Carroll said he was mostly pleased with the protections, but knows the challenge doesn't get any easier going from Denver's pass rush led by Von Miller to Chicago's rush now led by Mack.SECOND IMPRESSIONNagy acknowledged he needs to improve on his first game as a head coach. He second-guessed his own play calls, most notably two ill-advised screen passes, and acknowledged he is still growing into the role. Nagy replaced the fired Fox after spending a decade working under Andy Reid in Philadelphia and Kansas City."I wasn't in my exact rhythm that I could have been in," he said. "There's different reasons for that. For me, I just feel like that's my job. I've got to do that. I've got to be better."