The Kansas City Chiefs won the Super Bowl last season and are favorites to win it again at most NFL betting sites. As such, it is no surprise that the Chiefs have the best odds out of any team to win their division.
KC are just -390 at FanDuel New Jersey to win the AFC West, followed by the Los Angeles Chargers at +700, Denver Broncos at +1100, and Las Vegas Raiders at +1200. That is no shock when the Chiefs were the team in the division to post a winning record last season. On top of that, they were a perfect 6-0 against divisional opponents. In the last three seasons, Kansas City have a total of two losses in 18 games facing teams from the AFC West.
To put the AFC West betting odds for the Chiefs in perspective, the next team with the best odds to win their division is the Baltimore Ravens at -200 to win the AFC North. After that, it’s the Pittsburgh Steelers at +340. All New Jersey sportsbooks have the Chiefs and Ravens at the top of their Super Bowl betting markets.
The Chiefs are loaded once again and did not make any big changes in the off-season. Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes recently signed the biggest contract in NFL history and leads a stacked offense. It would be a surprise if Kansas City did not win the AFC West, which is why the New Jersey sportsbooks have them as big-time betting favorites to win the division.
Let’s look at the other teams in the AFC West and see if they have a chance to unseat the Chiefs as the AFC West champion.
LA Chargers
The Chargers have a lot of talent, but last season they finished in the basement of the AFC West at 5-11. They will get some key players back from injury on the defensive side of the ball, the run game is solid, and they have some weapons on the outside. However, the quarterback situation could be their undoing.
The Chargers will likely head into the season with journeyman Tyrod Taylor as the starting signal caller. The team moved on from longtime star Phillip Rivers, who is now with the Indianapolis Colts, and used the sixth pick in the draft to take Justin Herbert from Oregon. Taylor has been a pretty good quarterback in the league, but is pretty good enough to take down the Chiefs?
Denver Broncos
The Broncos head into the season with optimism, and the main reason is the way quarterback Drew Lock played down the stretch last term. The team finished 7-9 in 2019, and GM John Elway and the Denver fans are hoping that Lock can be the quarterback they have sorely lacked in the last few seasons.
The Broncos’ defense ranked 10th in the league last season in points allowed but only 28th in points scored. The team loaded up on offense in the off-season, but the key is Lock and his growth.
Las Vegas Raiders
The Raiders are in their first season in Sin City after three consecutive years under .500. This could be a make-or-break season for quarterback Derek Carr after the team went out and signed Marcus Mariota to push him. Josh Jacobs leads a solid run game, but the wide receiver corps is very young and the offensive line was beset by injuries last season.
The Las Vegas defense this season may be better with the addition of Cory Littleton, who has totaled 259 tackles in the last two seasons, and 2019 first-round draft pick Johnathan Abram, who missed all but one game last year.