There has been, to quote a certain celluloid dark side of the Force user, an awakening. Have you felt it?
The rest of the AFC West certainly has.
The NFL’s long-slumbering Dark Lords of the Sith -- hey, Lyle Alzado was called Darth Raider -- have come to life after an unlucky 13 years of irrelevancy, perhaps a season sooner than observers thought. Or did you miss the Oakland Raiders’ 30-20 thumping of the defending Super Bowl champion Denver Broncos in prime time Sunday night in the Black Hole?
An awakening? There has been a cultural shift in the AFC West through nine weeks, as Oakland sits atop the division at 7-2 after physically beating up on Denver. But as the Raiders enter their bye weekend, it is important to note that one of their losses came to the Kansas City Chiefs, who have won 16 of their past 18 regular-season games; the five-time defending division champion Broncos will get healthy; and the San Diego Chargers, at 4-5, have been more than competitive.
In fact, the AFC West is the lone division in the NFL in which all four of its teams are outscoring their opponents, and the division’s cumulative record of 23-12 (.657) is 16 percentage points better than the second-best division, the NFC East (20-11-1, .641).
Indeed, it is not a dream. It’s an awakening. And yes, the Force is strong in the AFC West.
Entering the second half of the season, our AFC West reporters break down each team's prospects of winning the division:
Why the Broncos will win the division: The Broncos will win because you’d be hard-pressed to find a defense that can match their level of success against the quarterbacks they've already faced this season. By the time the Broncos finish this Sunday's game in New Orleans against the Saints and head into their latest bye week since 1999, they will have already faced the top five passers (by yardage) in the league: Matt Ryan, Drew Brees, Philip Rivers, Andrew Luck and Derek Carr. Add in Andy Dalton, and the Broncos have faced six of the top 10. In a quarterback-driven, pass-happy league they are still No. 1 in pass defense (by a wide margin), No. 2 in sacks and have the league’s sack leader in Von Miller. They have harassed the league’s most productive players at the most important position unlike any other defense. That alone puts the Broncos in the conversation for what would be their sixth consecutive division title.
The Broncos' biggest remaining games: After their Week 11 bye week, the Broncos have three division games remaining, including Nov. 27 when the Chiefs come to Denver and Dec. 25 at Arrowhead. The Christmas night game and the season finale against the Raiders come in back-to-back weeks. After this Sunday’s game in New Orleans, the Broncos’ final six games are all against AFC opponents, a key string of contests in the playoff tiebreakers. -- Jeff Legwold
Why the Chiefs will win the division: Kansas City has the most complete team in the AFC West. The Raiders have more offensive capability and the Broncos are more dominant defensively, but the Chiefs are good enough to win when either side of the ball doesn’t carry its fair share. The Chiefs scored 30 points in the final 23 minutes to beat the Chargers in overtime in the season opener. Two weeks later, the Chiefs were inept offensively but forced eight turnovers and scored a defensive and a special-teams touchdown in beating the Jets. The Chiefs, at 2-0 in the division, are the only team that hasn’t lost a game to an AFC West opponent, so they have some margin for error when it comes to tiebreakers. The Chiefs didn’t just beat the Raiders last month in Oakland, they controlled the game and kept Carr in check, as they always do when they play against him. In addition, the Raiders have the most difficult of the remaining schedules, at least when it comes to playing their division rivals, as all three of their remaining AFC West games are on the road.
The Chiefs' biggest remaining games: The Chiefs have two games left against the Broncos and one each against the Raiders and Chargers. All come in the season’s final six weeks, so it’s going to be an exciting finish. All will be important, and it seems likely the Chiefs will be playing in San Diego in the season’s final game with one eye on Denver, where the Broncos will be playing against the Raiders. But the Chiefs' biggest remaining game will be Dec. 8 when the Raiders come to Arrowhead Stadium for a Thursday night game. It’s been a long time since the teams faced one another with so much on the line. -- Adam Teicher
Why the Raiders will win the division: Oakland’s offense is legit, but we already knew this. The Raiders have the No. 5-ranked total offense in the league (401.1 yards per game), are averaging the fifth-most points in the league (27.2 PPG) and just dropped a 30-spot on the defending champs from Denver. Carr is a league MVP candidate, receiver Michael Crabtree is among the most clutch players in the league, second-year wideout Amari Cooper is one of the most explosive players in the game, running back Latavius Murray’s touches are down but his production is up (thanks to change-of-pace rookie backs DeAndre Washington and Jalen Richard), and the entire offensive line seems deserving of a Pro Bowl nod. But where the Raiders become more dangerous is in how much the defense has improved. In the past four weeks, the defense has given up 406, 344, 270 and 299 yards while All-Pro defensive end/outside linebacker Khalil Mack is starting to get on a roll. He has sacks in four straight games, with two each in his past two games, and seven sacks overall. Plus, there may be additional pass-rush help on the horizon with defensive end Mario Edwards Jr., who has been on injured reserve since hurting his hip in the preseason opener, primed to begin practicing and former All-Pro Aldon Smith insisting he’s ready to return to Oakland once his NFL-mandated suspension ends Nov. 17. Smith's fate, however, rests in the hands of commissioner Roger Goodell. Imagine, then, a pass rush featuring Mack, Edwards Jr., Smith and Bruce Irvin.
The Raiders' biggest remaining games: The first comes Dec. 8 at Kansas City. The Chiefs, who are half a game behind the Raiders at 6-2, already beat the Raiders 26-10 on Oct. 16 in Oakland, and many observers think Kansas City may actually be the most complete team in the division. Plus, this game will be on a short week, with the Raiders traveling to Kansas City for the Thursday night affair. The second comes Jan. 1 at Denver in the season finale. Will this one be for the division title? Or might it be an elimination game for a wild-card spot? Look, the Raiders just imposed their will on the Broncos, beating them up on the line of scrimmage in rushing for 218 yards. In fact, Oakland has now won two straight in the rivalry, after having lost the previous eight in a row. And the last time the teams faced off in Denver, Mack had five sacks en route to being named first-team All-Pro at two positions (defensive end and outside linebacker). The schedule-makers did the Raiders no favors, as three of their final four games are on the road against AFC West rivals. -- Paul Gutierrez
Why the Chargers will win the division: San Diego has an easier schedule down the backstretch of 2016, with four of its final eight games at home and the winless Cleveland Browns also on the schedule. Rivers and running back Melvin Gordon combine to give the Chargers’ offense one of the best one-two punches in the division. Defensively, the Chargers stop the run, giving up just 85 yards per game (No. 5 in the NFL). And San Diego takes the ball away, with 18 turnovers created through nine games, second most in the league.
The Chargers' biggest remaining games: In December, the Chargers face the Carolina Panthers on the road in Week 14 and then host the Raiders in Week 15. Yes, the Panthers are not playing at the same level they did last season in reaching the Super Bowl, but Carolina is still a talented team. And at 7-2, the Raiders lead the AFC West. If the Chargers can somehow get through that tough two-game stretch with a .500 record, they have a chance to close out the season with wins on the road against the Browns and at home against the Chiefs. If the Chargers finish 9-7, they have an opportunity to earn an AFC wild-card berth. -- Eric Williams