Dude….
Football season is nearly upon us!!! Soon, we will all be sitting on our couches from Noon to 11 pm watching dudes throw a rhombus-shaped pigskin over a turf field. We will have our wings, nachos, pizza, pretzel bites, and of course, our ice-cold beers sitting there waiting for us to devour them. With a new football season coming up, I wanted to post some preseason division predictions. Nothing crazy long, just a little analysis of which teams will be good and which teams will struggle all season. Football is one of America’s biggest sports and the Dudes and Sports crew would be doing a DISHONOR to you all if we didn’t come out with our predictions. So crack those ice-cold brews, fix your bifocals, and prepare for the preview of the AFC WEST!
In the AFC West, you have the following teams. The reigning, defending, no-look passing Patrick Mahomes and the Super Bowl Champion Kansas City Chiefs. You have the city that parties all night long, the team with some players who probably beat the guards with the Mean Machine, and the new face at the blackjack Jimmy Garoppolo is the Las Vegas Raiders. The Mile High City with views of mountains that span for miles, Broncos Country is still riding with Russell Wilson is the Denver Broncos. Finally, the city where they make all the movies as if a bolt of lightning struck SoFi Stadium. Money bags Justin Herbert and the Los Angeles Chargers round out this competitive division. Who will win the division? Who will strive and who will get cut down to size? First, we have to start with the loudest fans in all of the NFL’s favorite teams. The Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs- The Super Bowl Champion Kansas City Chiefs look to continue their reign. This team will probably win the division without a single loss to any other AFC West opponent. Look, the Chiefs have Patrick Mahomes. Patrick has turned in a Hall of Fame-like career already with his two super bowls. However, Patty has some familiar weapons to throw at this year. He always has his right-hand man, Travis Kelce, who just seems to get better every year. The Chiefs will look for some young talent to step up and play big roles in the receiving game. Kadarius Toney will be their number-one option if he can stay healthy. Marquez Valdes-Scantling will continue to be the deep bomb threat. There isn’t a wide receiver with more upside than Skyy Moore. He seems to be really involved in the offense. Finally, Isiah Pacheco will be the main back, but Jerick McKinnon was phenomenal last year and he should see plenty of looks his way.
The line continues to come together and the defense has gotten a year older. I love the young linebacker core they have with Wilie Gay and Nick Bolton continuing to demonstrate their growth as leaders. The linebacking core, along with Chris Jones, looks to turn the Chiefs defense around. With Andy Reid and their mystical talent of a QB in Patrick Mahomes, the Chiefs look to become back-to-back Super Bowl Champions,
The Denver Broncos- This team was supposed to give the Chiefs all they could handle at the top of the AFC West standings. However, that didn’t happen. They were terrible. Russell Wilson looked like he didn’t ever touch a football before. The team took a massive blow when Jevonte Williams tore his ACL. With no run game and a struggling offensive line, the Broncos stunk last year. Thank god for Broncos country that was a whole season ago. With an incompetent coach out, and a Super Bowl-winning coach in, the Broncos look to live up to those expectations. We will see what Wilson will bring. They got his staff out of the locker room, which is bizarre he had his own trainers in the facility in the first place. Sean Payton will look to lead Wilson back to his glory days.
There are two big questions left with the Broncos. Is the coach the problem? You went on and got one of the best in the business to lead your team. Payton is proven, so if it’s still not successful, who is to blame? The second question is can they stay healthy? Williams is coming off an ACL tear, Jerry Juedy always finds a way to be out at least 3-4 games with some injury. Their defense was battered up too. If this team wants to make a run at defeating the goliath that is the Chiefs, they need both questions to be answered in their favor.
The Los Angeles Chargers- The LA Chargers are back and looking healthy once again. Superstar QB Justin Herbert continues to live up to the expectation. He received a HUGE pay raise to solidify himself as the Chargers QB for a while. His receiving core looks to stay healthy. Keenan Allen looks to be in top form, especially since he missed half a season with a lingering hamstring issue that sidelined him. His dynamic duo in Mike Williams, continues to be a reliable deep ball threat. In the slot, rookie Quentin Johnson is one of my favorite rookies to have a big year. Johnson led the way with a pretty inconsistent QB to the National Championship game. Now, Johnson relies on a very consistent QB and should get a look in his direction. Austin Ekeler is their predominant back who also looks to put up massive numbers. The Chargers defense is also solid with future Hall of Famers, Khalil Mack and Darwin James Jr., leading the way. Joey Bosa looks to bounce back after tearing his groin which left him out of the entire 2022 season. The big question mark is can this team survive the injury bug this year. It seemed like player after player got hurt for this team, really killing any Super Bowl aspirations. This year, if they stay healthy they can cause lightning to strike twice and lead the Chargers to the promise land.
The Las Vegas Raiders- With a new QB at the helm, look for this franchise to continue to make strides towards success. After trading for Jimmy Garoppolo, the Raiders finally found a competent QB. However, Jimmy G is still dealing with a foot injury since June, and that doesn’t help the Raiders in any shape or form. Their star wide receiver, Devante Adams, will get the majority of the targets in this upcoming season. Jakobi Meyers and Hunter Renfrow will continue to try and get open for Jimmy quickly and effectively. Josh Jacobs had another phenomenal year, and wants to put up big numbers yet again. Here’s where the Raiders lack, their defense STINKS! It finished bottom half in the league last year and didn’t seem to make that many notable improvements. With the offenses around the AFC West continually getting better, the defensive side of the ball for Vegas looks like it’s going to give up huge numbers. So, can Jimmy G turn this dumpster fire of a team around, or will this team lose itself amongst the slots yet again? Only time will tell.
Final Predictions: The AFC West is loaded with talent. However, one man with a history of no look passes and touchdown bombs reigns superior over this division. The Kansas City Chiefs will win the division, but I think they take a loss to a divisional opponent for the first time in what seems like a millennium. Right behind them I have the LA Chargers, who stays healthy and bolts its way to a playoff berth. In 3rd is the Denver Broncos who finally figure out how to win with a proven coach and QB. They’ll give every team fits though as Broncos Country also gallops its way into a wild card berth. Finally, the Las Vegas Raiders have an ok season. Jimmy G brightens every Raiders fan's moods, before their defense gives up 30 points a game and rips their hearts out. Overall, this is going to a division you will want to watch, who knows what will happen.
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